Phantasy Star Online: Darkness Falls
by Stormsworder
Summary: After somehow surviving the explosion on Ragol, Rico Tyrell and another young survivor struggle to solve the mystery behind the explosion. But something is waiting for them... something that led them to Ragol in the first place. Please R&R. Complete.
1. The Door to Darkness

Chapter 1: The Door to Darkness

_A.U.W. 3082_

Lieutenant Michael Faye peered through the scope of his Sniper, tuning out the nervous chatter and whine of machinery as Pioneer 1's military forces slowly made their way through the mysterious ruins. Everyone who had gone before their team had never come back out. This made Michael nervous, but he did his best not to show it. A good soldier didn't freeze of in fear in the middle of a battle… But still, he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had about these ruins. Something evil was in here, something terrible…

Deputy Commander Heathcliff Flowen, leader of the force, approached him. "Lt. Faye, have you spotted anything yet?"

He shook his head, not even looking towards his commanding officer as he continued to keep watch. "Not yet, sir. It's strange… There doesn't even seem to be any traces of the earlier teams that were sent in… Just what got them? And where are their bodies?"

"I don't know…" Commander Flowen murmured. "But it does have me worried." He brushed his white mustache with one hand, a grim look on his face. "Continue to keep watch. Whatever got the science team could come after us."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll—" A scream of terror cut him off, coming from the front ranks. Michael pointed his rifle to the front, his heart racing as he saw a pit there in front of the ranks. What had scared them like that? What could make grown men and women scream like little kids…?

That was when he saw it. A monster began to crawl out of the dark pit before them. Its body seemed to cycle through life and death, its flesh shifting and changing, mutating even as it pulled itself forth from the darkness. It was so horrible, so monstrous, that Michael's mind couldn't comprehend it accurately.

"Fire! Fire!" Commander Flowen shouted, his sword in hand. Photon bullets leapt forth, joined by the missiles from the Garanz assault mecha. But "IT" wasn't even fazed. "IT" crawled forth with eager anticipation, cutting a swath through their forces. Michael stared wide-eyed as soldier after soldier fell. He was so numb with shock that he didn't even see how most of his comrades died. Their dead and mangled bodies only hinted slightly at their terrible and sudden deaths…

"Fall back! Lieutenant, provide us with covering fire, but do your best to stay out of that thing's reach!"

Michael snapped out of his daze, immediately firing off rapid shots at "IT". The Photon bullets did nothing more than draw its attention to him. He wasn't able to move as he felt and ancient and terrible evil enter his mind, going through it as if it were reading a book.

"_You are not the one…"_

"IT" towered over him, its flesh rippling as a massive hand gripped him around his waist. He was lifted into the air, his Sniper falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

"_But you will suffice…"_

"IT" pressed him against its rippling flesh, and immediately Michael could feel the flesh crawl forward onto his body, as if its flesh was alive also. An excruciating pain spread forth wherever the flesh touched him, and Michael began to scream in pain and agony. His struggles only quickened the process, his body now being pulled into "IT". With a final scream, darkness filled his vision, and his soul was ripped from his body by the dark force that had slumbered in the ruins for 1000 years…

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Danielle Sterling stood at her door, straining to listen to the conversation her father was having with his colleague. She couldn't tell what it was about, but she knew it was serious.

"Whatever was in there was incredibly strong and nearly wiped out the entire force. Flowen barely escaped, but he now has this strange new infection that we believe is from the life form that killed the unit. Dr. Osto will soon send you a sample of this D-Type Factor to you, since he believes its uses as a catalyst in creating bio-weapons will be unparalleled to anything else," the unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Bio-weapons? Perhaps… I will carry out my own controlled experiments on it. We may finally make a breakthrough…" Her father trailed off, discussing some scientific jargon that just made Danielle more confused. She quietly shut her door, making her way to her bed and lying down on it. Confused thoughts swirled through her head. Her father had grown very secretive about his research and wouldn't tell Danielle a single thing about it. It was a boring life, with him always obsessed with his work and not caring about her. She yearned to get away and do something exciting instead of always sitting around…

"When Pioneer 2 gets here, I can go back to Mom, and she'll be nicer to me than Dad is…" she whispered to herself, repeating what she would always tell herself over the years. They would be here in two years… Just two more years…

Danielle sighed, turning onto her side and closing her eyes, thinking about how much fun she would have being back with her mother. It didn't taker her long to doze off, dreaming of her mother and being with her again as she often did.

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Rico Tyrell sat on the edge of her bed, her head down, tears trickling slowly down her face. Heathcliff Flowen was dead. Her mentor had died suddenly and mysteriously. She had just seen him not long ago, and now he was gone…

She wiped her face, her glasses lying on her nightstand. But she didn't put them on as she looked out her window at the full moon above. The soldiers didn't tell her the details behind his death, making her suspicious. What exactly had happened? Lately, the government had been keeping a lot of secrets from them. Rico and a few others had noticed strange reports about the food consumption and the size of the Central Dome. While the public was oblivious to this, she and her friends immediately knew something was going on. But they couldn't really look into it, seeing as how this was a government matter.

_The government has always been corrupt… I bet the Alliance of Nations back on Coral is having some major problems now… There's always war and corruption when it comes to our government, it seems…_

Rico let out a frustrated sigh, wiping the tears from her face. She could only imagine how her father would react to this news, hearing that his close friend and the one who he told to watch over her was dead.

"Two more years," she whispered softly. "They'll be here in two years…" Rico shook her head slightly, her mind racing through her thoughts as she pulled the covers over her. So many things had happened. She would get to the bottom of this, no matter what it took.


	2. The Hunters

((Author's Note: Wow, I finally got back into writing this at a steady pace. Now if I can just type it up at that same pace. This may be the one I work on the most at the moment. Also, I'm sorry that the first three chapters are so short. They get longer after these little "intro" chapters.))

Chapter 2: The Hunters

_A.U.W. 3083_

"Tyrell, the animals have been attacking the civilians. I thought you said they were peaceful!"

Rico frowned, staring Principal Hakuro in the eyes. "They were, sir. I have no idea why they've suddenly grown violent. I've been looking into it, but nothing's come up."

Principal Hakuro scowled. "Then look harder. _Pioneer 2_ will arrive in less than a year. I don't want them landing and being harried by these animals when they were told it was safe."

Rico was growing irritated slightly, but she struggled to keep it out of her voice. "I understand, sir. It'll be taken care of."

Hakuro's scowl deepened. "It better be, Tyrell. So far you Hunters have been pretty useless with helping us as of late. I don't see what Colin ever saw in them. Just a bunch of rogues, that's all you are… Humph. You're dismissed, Tyrell."

Rico turned away, walking out of his office. As soon as the doors hissed closed behind her, she let out a frustrated sigh. Principal Hakuro was as controlling and power-hungry as they came. He acted like the Hunters were so much lower than the rest of the citizens. They were just servants, tools to him… While her father had great trust and faith in the hunters, Hakuro absolutely despised them…

"And we're trying to find out what's going on, but a handful of hunters can't do much on their own…"

"What if you called all of the hunters you trust the most to form a group to look into this?" the familiar voice of her friend Kana spoke as the Force stepped forward, wearing flowing black-and-red robes. Her black hair was pulled up in an intricate style. "I'm sure an organized team would do a better job at solving this problem, and maybe it will help you to get Hakuro to ease up a bit."

Rico smiled wearily at her friend. "That is a pretty good idea, Kana, but I'm not really sure if any of the others would come. It's been pretty difficult finding anything out, and I've worked with some of the others a couple of times…" She brushed one of her locks of red hair out of her eyes. "Get some of the others and have them meet me out in the Residential Sector, I guess. We'll go with your idea, Kana."

The Force bowed her head slightly. "Very well. I'll get them for you, Rico." With a slight smile, she turned away and began to walk off down the corridor, her shoes clacking slightly on the metal floor. Rico allowed a slight smirk before heading off herself. Principal Hakuro was in for a surprise.

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Rico took a deep breath of the crisp morning air, listening to the singing of the birds around her. This part of the Residential Sector was currently home to only the native animals, but when _Pioneer 2_ arrived, it would become the new home of a significant amount of the ship's passengers. But for now, she enjoyed relaxing out here in the warm sun sometimes, catching a breather while sifting through her jumbled thoughts.

She tilted her head to the side slightly, watching as Kana stepped into view on the rough dirt path, her dark blue eyes scanning the area. When her gaze fell on Rico, she nodded slightly and motioned her hand behind her. Several others stepped forward, dressed in the armor of their different professions. Rico knew all of them, Hunters who she had worked beside on the Surface Exploration Team when they had first arrived. These were people she trusted with her life.

Rico took note of all the familiar faces before she started to speak. "I know this is sudden, but I'm glad you came. This has to do with the order from Principal Hakuro, as you all may know. He ordered us to investigate the violent outbursts of the native animals, but so far, we haven't gotten anywhere in that investigation. Kana gave me an idea. I chose only my friends I could trust the most, you, for this. I propose that we form an official organization to look into this matter and defend the citizens from these violent animals."

Zanryu, the Ranger who was Kana's husband, spoke up. "It's a good idea, I agree. It'd be much easier to find out what's going on if we formed such a group instead of being as disorganized as we are now," he said, his voice muffled by the black mask her wore. He ran a hand slightly through his black hair, the scar over his left eye giving him a menacing look, even though in truth he was actually a kind-hearted person.

"And if there are others we can find and trust, we can recruit their help," Rakion spoke in his metallic voice, the RAcast folding his yellow-armored arms. He had been Zanryu's partner for several years now. "With a larger force than what we have here, the investigation may go smoother than it has."

Rico nodded, satisfied. This was going better than she had expected. She shouldn't have doubted that her friends would be willing to band together like this. "So then, who's with me?"

Without hesitation, without pause, the Hunters all stepped forward as one. Rico couldn't help but smile at this. Just like when they arrived six years ago and were assigned to the Surface Exploration Team, they had all chosen to follow her. As she spoke, her voice was firm and filled with determination. "We Hunters will be the ones who get to the bottom of this while Hakuro just sits at his desk. We'll be the ones to protect our friends and families here on Ragol from this threat."

A roar rose up from the group as they pumped their fists in the air. Rico knew that her friends would stick with her through this. She was about to speak again when she heard the familiar roar of a Booma from behind her. Within seconds, several other roars accompanied the first, along with the howls of Savage Wolves.

_Why am I not surprised?_

Rico pressed a button on her storage unit, holding out both hands to her side as light gathered into her hands, forming her massive Red Sword. Her friends readied their weapons, ranging from rifles and mechguns to double sabers and staves.

As the animals drew closer, their eyes filled with bloodlust and rage, the Hunters prepared themselves for a fight.


	3. Arrival

Chapter 3: Arrival

Rico brushed a strand of her red hair out of her eyes, adjusting her glasses slightly as she walked down the pathway through the forest that led to the Residential Sector. The day had finally arrived. _Pioneer 2_ would reach Ragol after so many years. She would finally be able to see her father again…

_Maybe father will take Hakuro's place… I hope he does… Hakuro is too much like the leaders on Coral. They desired for power after Photon energy was discovered and put our world in the sorry state it's in. And they did the same when that strange meteor arrived…_

Rico tried to push the thought of the government's corruption out of her mind as her anger rose up inside of her. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about the incompetent government of her home world. There were more important things to do right now. Hakuro had ordered her to scout around the Residential Sector to see if any more wild animals were causing problems.

"I hate you, Dad!" Rico looked up as she heard a girl shouting from near one of the buildings. "Sit and rot in front of your microscopes and computers for all I care! I'm leaving!" Rico raised an eyebrow as she watched a young girl storming out of one of the buildings and taking off into the forest. A few seconds later, a tall and lanky man with long, disheveled brown hair and blue eyes, dressed in the uniform of a member of the _Pioneer 1_ Lab, came to the door. He only glanced in the direction the girl had left for a second, an indifferent look on his face, before pressing a button to close the door.

_That was Ethan Sterling, that big-shot scientist in biogenetics. Why is his daughter so mad at him? I thought he was a decent guy from the bit I talked to him…_

Rico was still wondering just what could have happened when her comm link crackled to life, Kyle's voice coming over it. "We've got reports of wolves out near the Residential Sector where you're patrolling. Care to check it out, Rico?"

"Sure thing. I saw a girl running in that direction."

Kyle sounded a bit worried. "Not good. Better find her fast. You have thirty minutes until _Pioneer 2_ arrives."

Rico pressed a button on her arm unit, then held out her right hand as light flowed into it. Her Red Saber materialized, its Photon blade humming softly. "Let's hope I can find her before the wolves do."

-----------------------------------

Danielle was sitting with her back against a tree, her knees pulled up to her chin, strands of her brown hair falling over her blue eyes. She was crying softly, sadness and anger swirling around inside. She had felt this way so many times, and she hated it. Her dad never cared about her, never loved her. All she wanted was for him to be nice to her, to be proud of the things she did. But he was never proud, and he never cared. He hadn't even looked at her when she suggested that they go and watch the arrival of _Pioneer 2_. When he had instead said that she had to go with him to that island again in a few minutes, she had snapped on him. That was when she had stormed out of the house and ran into the forest, to an area where not much development had been going on.

"I hate him…. I hate him so much…." She whispered with a quivering voice. "When Mom comes, I'll never go back to him…. I never will." Danielle wiped away the tears, feeling a bit angry at herself for crying over this. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before… She should be used to something like this by now. Not a day went by when they didn't argue over something. Soon she wouldn't have to worry about it though. _Pioneer 2 _was arriving today. She would be free of that man and finally be with her mother again.

Danielle lifted her head slightly, hearing the slight rustle of leaves from the bushes nearby. She looked to her right, but nothing was there. It was probably just the wind, but it was odd that she didn't feel the breeze…

Another rustling of leaves reached her ears, this time to her left. Danielle quickly turned her head, her eyes widening as her gaze fell on a light brown-furred and grey-skinned Savage Wolf, its red eyes locking onto her. It let out a low growl, then lifted up its head and howled. Danielle could hear another growl from her right, a second Savage Wolf coming from the foliage. Fear rose up inside of her as she realized she had made a very stupid mistake. She had gone into one of the undeveloped areas where the animals roamed freely. Lately, they had all been told to be careful because of the increased violent outbursts, especially around this area…

They both slinked forward towards her, their paws padding softly on the grass, the sound lost beneath the rapid pounding of her heart. "N-No…" she whispered, her voice trembling as much as her body. The Savage Wolves growled again, tensing, their muscles rippling beneath their fur as they prepared to leap. "No!"

The first Savage Wolf leapt at her, teeth bared, saliva dripping from its mouth. A red Photon blade dug deep into its side, the energy searing through its flesh. The blade ripped out sideways, flinging away the Savage Wolf's corpse. The second wolf looked up, just as the blade dug into its neck, ending its life in one swift and fatal blow. Danielle looked up, still trembling in fear as a woman with red hair and blue highlights in her hair lowered the Photon saber. She was clad in a red and white hunter's uniform, a red ring on her left arm. Her red-colored eyes narrowed behind her glasses with frames of a matching color. Seconds passed before the woman relaxed and looked down at Danielle. "Are you okay?"

"Uh… y-yeah…." Danielle stammered, realizing with awe that this was Red Ring Rico, the famous hero herself. She chided herself for making such a stupid mistake as coming into this area while slowly getting to her feet. "Thank you."

Rico nodded, but she had a serious look on her face. "You should go back home. It's not safe out here."

Danielle thought about her father, and her anger pushed through her fear, all thoughts about the mistake she had just made vanishing. "I'm not going back. I hate that man."

Irritation appeared on Rico's face, but it quickly passed. "Would you rather die out here at the hands of these animals?" Danielle ignored her words, turning to face the tree she had been sitting against, starting to climb up it. "What're you doing? Are you even listening to me?"

Danielle looked down, her navy blue vest waving slightly in the gentle breeze that now came. "I already told you, I'm not going back," she said stubbornly. "You don't know what he's like. I'll wait here until _Pioneer 2 _gets here so I can go with Mom instead of him." She looked up once more, grabbing the branch above her, her feet bracing against the bark of the trunk as she made her way to the higher branches. When she looked down, Rico still stood there.

With a sigh, Rico shook her head. "Fine. I'll clear out the rest of the Savage Wolves reported in the area and come back to check on you."

Danielle felt a bit surprised by this. "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"Like you did with those wolves?" Rico retorted. "They nearly killed you, kid."

Danielle frowned a bit. "I'm sixteen, so don't patronize me."

Rico put her left hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing as she squinted up at her. "Maybe you should cut back on your attitude. Look, I know you hate your dad, but don't take it out on others. I was just trying to help. Is this how you thank me for saving your life?" She just shook her head now, her hand dropping to her side. "When I get back, I'm going to take you back to the Central Dome."

Danielle was about to protest, but when she looked down, Rico had already left. Danielle hesitated, a pang of guilt in her heart, along with irritation at herself.

_How stupid can I get? I get saved by Rico Tyrell, the hunter that I've always aspired to be as good as, and then I go off and get into an argument with her. But… I'm not going back to Dad. I never will._

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Rico had really been irritated by the young girl. She had one serious attitude problem, and it had tried her patience. She strode through the forest, activating her comm unit. "Kyle, I found the girl, but she wouldn't go back. Dr. Sterling has one hard-headed daughter."

"Huh? Dr. Ethan Sterling? The big authority in biogenetics along with Dr. Osto?" Kyle asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You know anything about him?"

"He's been working with Dr. Osto Hyle ever since the meteor impact twenty years ago. I even heard he's been involved in some big secret project. Rumor has it that he pretty much doesn't care about his daughter at all, even though he denies it. I doubt he even told her about her mother's death."

A shiver ran up her spine, memories rising unbidden to her mind. "How did Kate die?"

Kyle's voice dropped a notch, taking on a deadly serious tone. "Black Paper."

Rico hesitated. Black Paper was an underworld syndicate that most people thought was just a group of black market traders. In truth, they were a force under direct control of the Alliance of Nations. "Why? Why would they get her?"

"A buddy of mine thinks she got too close to something they were hiding. Something big. Something about Ragol."

Rico thought about all the strange info that had been dug up regarding _Pioneer 1. _Dr. Sterling working with Dr. Osto, the Lab Chief of _Pioneer 1_, on a secret project, his own wife being killed by members of a group under government control… "We'll talk about this later, Kyle. Be careful that the wrong people aren't listening."

"Yes, ma'am." Without another word, the comm link shut off.

Rico slowly looked around, focusing on her mission once more and pushing thoughts of the strange conspiracy out of her mind. It was then she realized that it was way too quiet. Not even the song of the birds reached her ears. It was a forest of silence, and it sent chills up her spine.

_The Savage Wolves aren't even around, and they were supposed to be around here in large packs!_

She gripped her Red Saber a bit tighter, pushing through the branches into a clearing that allowed her to see part of the Central Dome. A red symbol was over the top of it, growing outwards around one of the towers. _Pioneer 2 _had arrived! A beam of red light shot straight through the air while a blue beam came down to the lower of the two towers on the Dome. With the guidance beams in place, the ship would be making its descent.

Rico couldn't help but grin. After so many years, they had finally arrived. But the grin fell away as goose bumps popped up along her skin, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Without warning, there was a massive explosion of energy that swept forth, engulfing the Central Dome and cutting off the guidance beams. The energy engulfed everything in its path, spreading forth like a hungry beast. Rico had no time to react as the bright blue light filled her vision completely.

-----------------------------------

Danielle's legs dangled in the air as she looked out at the Central Dome from her perch on the tree branch. Her heart was racing with excitement as she saw the two beams of light. She had waited for this moment for so long. She would finally be able to see her mother's kind and loving face again.

Danielle blinked rapidly now, squinting at something she saw behind the Central Dome. It was a large transparent shape, "wings" opening up behind it. For a moment, time seemed to stand still for her. Her entire body felt cold and numb all of a sudden, and she felt something there in the distance, something ancient and evil.

As the explosion engulfed everything, Danielle felt the cold evil wrap around her, slipping into her mind and searching for something. She felt so cold and tired, and before the explosion of energy even reached her, Danielle had slipped into the darkness that had crept into her body.


	4. Forest of Silence

((Soaring Hawk: Glad you like it. I really delayed on working this for way too long. Now that I'm back into playing PSO, I'm working on this more often. :P Hope I continue to do some good writing for ya.))

Chapter 4: Forest of Silence

Rico let out a frustrated sigh as she heard the hiss of static from her comm link. She hadn't been able to raise anyone across any of the channels. It was almost like she was the only person alive on the face of the planet.

_Don't even think like that, _her mind chided, the rational side of her kicking in. _There are others, and you have to find them. You can't be the only one alive. Maybe that explosion just fried the circuitry in everything. It would explain how you survived and how everything around doesn't even look like that explosion occurred._

Pushing away the despair that crept through her, Rico retraced her steps through the forest, barely noting the unusual silence that surrounded her as she tightened her grip on her Red Saber. She stopped now, not sure why as her red eyes slowly scanned the area. Then it dawned on her. This was where she had met Ethan Sterling's daughter, if memory served correctly. Could it be she was still here? She peered up at the tree, scanning its branches to see if the girl was still on any of them, but she wasn't. She looked down now, examining around the base of the tree. She caught a glimpse of something in the grass, and it took her confused and worried mind a bit to realize that it was a person lying face-down in the grass.

Rico rushed over to the person, laying her Red Saber on the ground and gently grabbing their shoulders before turning them over. It was the same girl from before.

"Don't be dead," she whispered with worry, checking the girl's pulse and breathing. Relief flooded through Rico as she discovered the girl was still alive. She apparently had fallen from the tree or something, a few scrapes and bruises on her. She was fortunate to have survived, but there was no telling if she had broken anything or had a concussion. "I need to get her somewhere safe… She won't last long out here." Rico stored her Red Saber, even though her mind was screaming at her not to put away her weapon in such a dangerous situation where she didn't have enough information on what was going on or what dangers lurked around her. She picked up the girl with ease in both arms, noting absently that she had to be just a teenager still.

Looking around for a second, Rico then continued to retrace her steps, making her way back to the Residential Sector. Her arms not even straining, she pressed her elbow against the switch to Dr. Sterling's home and stepped through the door as it opened with a hiss. "Dr. Sterling? Dr. Sterling!" Rico called out, being answered only by silence. Rico frowned, straining to hear anything within the residence, but all she heard was her own pounding heart.

Rico shifted slightly to get a better grip on the girl, closing the door behind her with another press against a button with her elbow. She cautiously made her way deeper into the house, entering the living room. Her eyes flickered over to a computer desk in the corner with papers scattered about it and the chair still pushed in. It looked like someone had been working there just moments before. Rico gently set the girl down on the couch, worried since she still hadn't woken up.

_I wonder where Dr. Sterling is, though… _Her eyes flickered over to the computer, narrowing behind her glasses. _I wonder if there's anything on there that may say what happened, or maybe where he even is… _Curious, Rico strode over to it and checked the monitor, glancing over the various charts. They didn't make any sense, but two caught her eye. It was a chart of the energy levels from some undisclosed source in the Central Dome area, but the coordinates weren't familiar to her. They had risen dramatically right before the explosion. "Energy levels… Maybe it has to relate to the explosion. But where did the reports come from? Who sent them?" She looked at another chart, her heart beating faster in her chest. "D-Cellular Activity in subject Gamma 059…?" She glanced between it and the energy chart. They seemed almost the same, but there was one major difference. The energy levels had declined. The D-Cellular activity didn't.

_D-Cellular… Isn't that related to the D-Factor they found in the meteor all that time ago? What were they making? What in the world were they trying to do?_

Rico frowned, confused thoughts whirling in her mind. Something dark had been going on within the Pioneer 1's research groups. Had Heathcliff been involved in it?

She shook her head, trying not to think about it as she looked back at the girl, focusing on her. Did she even know what her father had been involved in? With a slight sigh, Rico accessed her storage unit, checking her weapon names on the screen. She found the one she was looking for and took out a plain Handgun that she had kept with her in case of emergencies. She set it down on the table in the middle of the room, glancing once more at the girl. Rico couldn't afford to waste time staying here. She had to find any survivors. Hopefully the girl would be fine on her own.

_An explosion that left no marks, unknown experiments, peaceful animals who suddenly became violent… What's really going on?_

Having no answers, Rico adjusted her glasses slightly before drawing her Red Saber and heading out the door. It was time to enter the forest once more.

-----------------------------------

Danielle groaned in pain, her head throbbing painfully as she slowly came around. She forced her eyes open, trying to take in her surroundings even though her vision was blurry. The place looked familiar… Was she in her house?

She slowly sat up, rubbing the side of her head a bit. How did she get here? One minute she was outside, and the next she was in her house with a pounding headache. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision, recognizing where she was. She was in her living room, but her father wasn't at his computer like he usually was. Her wandering gaze fell on something on the table now, definitely not remembering it being there before she left. It was a weapon, a Handgun, its green Photon charge glowing softly. "What's this doing here…? It can't be Dad's…" She swung her legs over the side of the sofa, carefully picking up the Handgun. Maybe whoever had brought her to her house had left this here. She had never actually used a weapon before, but something inside of her told her that she would need it.

Danielle looked around slowly, feeling like she was in a dream. Walking over to the door, she pressed the button to open it, the hiss sounding incredibly loud in the silence. She stepped out into the bright sunlight, squinting as she looked around. Why was everything so quiet?

She shuddered a bit, feeling cold for an instant. She shook it off and began to walk forward, following the path back that would lead to the Central Dome transporter. As she walked, she wondered what had happened. Wasn't there an explosion? Everything seemed perfectly fine, though!

Danielle frowned, looking around slowly now as a sound reached her ears. It was oddly familiar, one that she could have sworn she had heard before. It was almost like a mosquito buzzing in her ear.

"Ow!" she cried, feeling something sharp jab deep into her right arm. As she looked down, she saw a giant purple insect with a sharp, long, needle-like mouth hovering near her arm. Danielle immediately felt fatigued and drained, recognizing the creature as a Mothmant. Fear shot through her, but she struggled to get a grip on herself as she lifted the Handgun and fired point-blank at the insect. It fell to pieces as the bullet ripped through it, but three more began to buzz around her. Danielle aimed up at them, sweat trickling down her face as she fired rapidly. Somehow, she managed to hit them even though her hand trembled like crazy. Her eyes darted around quickly, fear still filling her. She spotted the gate to the next area nearby, even as more buzzing filled the air. She sprinted for the gate, which had barely opened before she was heading for the next one. Brown-furred creatures dug themselves out of the ground around her, claws slicing through the air just inches from her head. But when she reached the gate, she realized with dread that it was locked. The security system must have activated to keep the animals from spreading beyond the area. "No! Open up!" she shouted, slamming her fists against the metal. "Open up! Open up!"

As the creatures roared behind her, fear gripped her heart in its icy hand. Danielle spun around, panicking as she saw how close they were. The animals, Boomas, growled softly as they bared their viciously sharp teeth and flexed their deadly claws. Their purple eyes had a malevolent glare in them, and their muscles rippled under their brown fur. Danielle brought up the Handgun, a primal roar pounding in her ears as she pulled the trigger rapidly. She didn't even realize she was screaming until it died away in her throat, her breathing coming in ragged gasps. She fell back against the gate, sliding into a sitting position and staring at the bodies of the two Boomas. Danielle was still sitting there, her heart racing painfully fast in her chest, when she was found minutes later by the same woman who had saved her before in the forest.

-----------------------------------

Rico gently gripped the girl's arm, going over her story of what had happened in her mind. This girl, Danielle, was lucky to be alive. Inexperienced and facing down the wild animals on her own for the first time ever? "Tell me how bad it hurts, Danielle," she said softly to the teen, her fingers pressing lightly on her bloodied arm. Danielle suddenly yelped in pain, trying to pull her arm away, but Rico kept a firm yet gentle grip. "Ssh, calm down," Rico instructed, trying to soothe the scared girl. "It's not too serious, but we need to clean this up so it doesn't get infected." She helped Danielle up, making their way to the small stream that flowed through the area. She sat the teen down first before taking a seat on the grass beside Danielle.

"Did you find anyone?" Danielle asked Rico now, the pain still clear in her voice.

Rico shook her head sadly, carefully washing off the blood and cleaning the wound as best as she could. "I haven't been looking long, but so far, no luck." Rico ripped off the right sleeve of Danielle's short-sleeved shirt in a long enough strip to bandage her arm, being as gentle as she could. "I'm going to check the Central Dome next. Maybe there are survivors there."

"Can… I go with you…?" Danielle asked quietly, looking up at Rico.

Rico nodded to her. "That's probably the best thing to do." She thought back to when she had left Danielle alone and immediately regretted that decision. The teen had gotten hurt because she had been on her own. Why hadn't she just waited for Danielle to wake up instead of going check out things on her own and leaving message capsules around? Granted, the capsules would be useful in telling any survivors or anyone who came from _Pioneer 2 _that there were some people still alive, but she could have done it with Danielle around, too.

"Rico, I'm sorry…"

Rico looked at her in surprise. "Why are you apologizing?" she asked, a bit bewildered by the sudden apology.

"The way I treated you before… I'm sorry for being such a jerk. I'm not as tough as I thought after all. When they attacked, I was so scared. I didn't even know what was doing."

Rico looked into Danielle's eyes, seeing the fear that was still evident inside. _So, I guess being in a dangerous situation like that made an impact on her… That's good. At least she isn't so confident anymore. She won't make that same mistake again._

"It's okay. You don't need to worry about it," Rico replied sincerely. She tightened the makeshift bandage a bit, then rose to her feet and held out a hand to Danielle. "Right now, let's stick together and focus on searching for anyone else, okay?" She paused a beat, then allowed a slight smile. "I'll even help you learn how to fight."

Danielle looked up, her blue eyes locking with Rico's. She nodded a bit, taking Rico's hand. Rico helped Danielle to her feet, placing the Handgun in Danielle's hands. "This is all I really have for you to use right now, so just stay back and let me handle the brunt of the fighting, okay?"

As Danielle stared down at the Handgun, Rico frowned a bit. There was a slight tremor in Danielle's hands and a look of uncertainty and fear in her eyes. But who wouldn't be feeling this way in a situation like this? "Rico…" she said slowly now, as if uncertain about saying this. "What do you think happened to everyone?" She asked the question in a soft voice, barely audible over the running stream.

Once more, she couldn't help but be shocked by the sudden change from a hard-headed teenager to a shell-shocked girl. "I don't know," Rico admitted, adjusting her red ring on her left arm slightly. "I can't even raise any of the others hunters. Now that all of the monsters are violent instead of just a few…" her voice trailed off before she shook her head. "We're in for a rough time, but together we should be able to do just fine." Rico looked towards the gate that she had found Danielle by, trying to develop a plan of action in her mind while taking out a message capsule.

Rico noticed the curious look on Danielle's face now as she held the orange capsule in her hand. "What's that for? Is it for someone who comes looking for us?"

With a slight smile, she nodded her head. "Exactly. And maybe leaving behind these will help anyone who comes from _Pioneer 2 _to follow us and find out what's going on."

Danielle's expression brightened a bit, a hopeful look in her eyes as she followed after Rico once she had finished recording the message. "Mom's gonna come… I know it."

Rico felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she saw that hope in the teen's eyes. There was no way she could break it to her young friend that her mother wouldn't be coming.

Kate Sterling would never come.


	5. Mother Earth of Dishonesty

Chapter 5: Mother Earth of Dishonesty

"Okay, so we'll see if the transporter to the area around the Central Dome is functioning, but with the explosion, it may not work. If not, we've got a long hike ahead of us."

Danielle scratched the back of her head slightly. "The transporter isn't far from here, isn't it?"

"No, it's not, but the switch for the gate is on the other side of it." Rico frowned, looking at the locked gate she had found Danielle by. "We'll have to make our way through the entire area to reach it. The security system must have activated automatically when the animals began entering the areas."

Danielle looked up at Rico, brushing a strand of her brown hair out of her face. "Guess things can never be easy, huh…?" She pulled out the Handgun from her vest pocket, handling it carefully as they walked back through the residential section.

"Of course not," Rico answered with a slight smirk on her face. She adjusted her glasses slightly. "If no one's here, they must be inside the Central Dome," she murmured to herself, just barely audible to Danielle. Her smirk had fallen away now. "I hope…" she added quietly.

Danielle looked up at her again, the trees they were walking under filtering the light from the afternoon sun. "Huh…?"

"Sorry, just thinking out loud," Rico replied now, shaking her head. The pathway's gate hissed open before them, opening up into a wide-open area. To their right was a bio-gate, its lines of light glowing red. Left of them was a locked gate, but no switch was near it. Danielle couldn't understand why it was locked. The area looked pretty clear. She was about to step through, but was stopped as Rico held her back by gently gripping her shoulder. "Wait."

Danielle was confused until she saw the ground in the next area shift slightly. "What in the world…?"

"Boomas. They dig through the ground and can pop up almost everywhere. It's rare to ever see just one. They travel in groups almost all the time. Tan-furred Goboomas and purple-furred Gigoboomas are increasingly tougher." Rico readied her Red Saber now. "Didn't you know about them?"

"I… uh… w-well…" Danielle was a bit flustered. "I kinda forgot…"

Rico just shook her head now. "Stay back near the gate and cover me, okay?"

Danielle nodded, raising the Handgun as Rico ran through the gate. As soon as the Boomas dug themselves from the ground, Rico struck with such speed and precision that Danielle stared in awe. In two swipes, both of the animals in front of her fell to the ground. More Boomas and a few Goboomas emerged, Rico lifting her head slightly as she crouched down. She dodged a strike from a Goboomas, spinning in one fluid motion and cutting into its back with her Red Saber. A Booma came up from her left, but she raised her left arm to block the attack with her Red Ring, kicking it hard in the gut. The Booma staggered before Rico thrust her free hand forward, a fireball shooting from it and into the animal's face. The remaining enemies surrounded her, but Danielle could just watch as Rico unleashed her Gifoie technique. Flames wrapped around her, spreading outwards and engulfing the Boomas and Goboomas.

_Wow… She really is as good as they say… _She thought to herself, completely focused on watching the hunter. "Danielle, behind you!!" Rico shouted now, startling Danielle a bit. She glanced back over her shoulder in time to see a Booma bring its claws down. She let out a yelp of surprise as she staggered out of the way, hearing the claws whistle past her head. If she had been just a second late… Snapping up the Handgun, she let loose a trio of shots that tore into its face. With a moan of pain, the Booma fell forward and didn't move again.

A roar came from her right now, and Danielle took the Handgun in just her right hand before blasting the Booma at point-blank range, the weapon held sideways.

"Wow, not bad," Rico commented, walking up to her now as the gates unlocked. "But you need to pay attention to your surroundings. If you had been alone, you'd be dead right now." She had a serious look on her face as she spoke, making Danielle feel a bit ashamed for making such a stupid mistake. After a second, Rico allowed a slight smile. "Still, though, you did okay for a beginner. I bet you'd make a good Ranger with more training."

_The most famous hunter around saying I'd make a good Ranger? No… She's probably just saying that to make me not feel so bad. There's no way I could be a Ranger… Mom is, but I'm not…_

Rico headed for the southern gate, glancing back over her shoulder with an encouraging smile. "And I'm not just saying that."

Danielle was caught off guard by this, wondering if it was that obvious what she was thinking. She quickly followed after Rico, shaking off the surprise she felt. Without even thinking, Danielle spoke as they entered the next area. "Mom is a Ranger. I want to be like her, so I practiced a bit until Dad made me stop."

Rico raised an eyebrow now, looking down at her. "Why would he want you to stop?"

"Because he's a jerk," Danielle replied, a hint of anger in her voice. "All he ever cares about is his experiments, especially ever since we arrived. It's like he doesn't even care about me anymore. That's why I ran off."

Rico paused slightly, her eyes flickering a bit. She laid a hand on Danielle's shoulder. "Well, things are different now. You do have someone here who cares about you. Me."

Danielle was even more surprised now, a small smile spreading across her face. She felt better now, more confident than before. She wasn't alone anymore.

Rico nodded to her, then looked up to scan the area. "Okay… That gate to the left leads back to where I found you." She pointed to the gate on the right in the distance, a small creek running near it. "The transporter is right through there." She walked forward now, a focused look on her face as she held her Red Saber in one hand, Danielle keeping close beside her. Rico suddenly tensed up, just as Danielle spotted the shadows on the ground. Three bird-like creatures dropped to the ground, sitting there and not moving towards them. They were just smaller than Danielle, covered in yellow feathers with their stomachs being colored white. Their short wings rested at their sides, red eyes just over its short beak. Two antennae-like appendages rose from their heads, swaying gently in the breeze.

"Uh… Aren't those Rag Rappies? They don't look so dangerous…"

"Looks can be deceiving… Although I have to admit, they are cowards…" Rico pressed a button on her wrist unit, the Red Saber vanishing. Particles of light gathered into Rico's hand now, taking the shape of her Red Handgun. Without waiting, she raised the weapon and firing quickly at the three Rag Rappies, one shot for each of them. As soon as they were hit, the creatures immediately began to scurry away. "Did I mention they were cowards?"

Danielle raised an eyebrow slightly. "Yeah, really…" She walked after Rico once more as they headed for the gate on the right, walking through it. The path curved around slightly, revealing an area slightly smaller than the last with trees spreading their shade over the ground. The transporter was there to the left of the path, still active with red rings of light. "Hey, it's working…! We'll be able to get to the Central Dome quickly now." She looked back at Rico, who nodded a bit. Her expression was hard to read, but Danielle could almost see a look of dread in her eyes. Danielle's smile slowly fell away as she realized what Rico was thinking. There was no telling what awaited them at the Central Dome. Would there be survivors there? Or would everyone be gone or dead? Shuddering a bit, Danielle followed Rico into the transporter, hoping for the best.

-----------------------------------

The warm rain on her face felt comforting… for a whole five seconds. It was just a light shower, but already she was very wet with her shirt plastered to her back. Her wet bangs fell in front of her face, forcing her to continuously brush them out of her way. Danielle gazed up at the dark clouds overhead as they went through a gate and down an incline. When Boomas and Goboomas dug themselves from the wet ground and Rag Rappies dropped from the air, Danielle was ready. As Rico charged in to fight in close-range combat, Danielle covered her with well-placed Handgun shots, scaring off the Rag Rappies. When the final Booma fell, a pack of Savage Wolves leapt into the area, the blue-furred Barbarous Wolf that was the leader growling at them. Danielle stayed back on the incline to where the Wolves couldn't get around to her back so easily, taking careful aim. Two well-placed shots brought down the Barbarous Wolf, and as the Savage Wolves let out mournful howls, Rico rushed in with her Red Daggers and cut a swath through them. The gate before them unlocked, Rico continuing her pattern of recording message capsules before they headed through the gate.

The pathway they were now walking down was a bit narrow, the foliage and naturally-formed rock walls giving them only about eight feet or so of walking space. Rico only glanced into the two gates they passed by, both of them leading only to dead ends. The path opened up to a larger area before them, more Boomas, Goboomas, and Gigoboomas attacking. Rico took one step forward, exchanging her weapon out for her massive Red Sword. Danielle couldn't help but be amazed at how easily the hunter wielded the weapon, not even straining as she swung it. The Savage Wolves that leapt out from the trees hoping to make Rico their next meal were instantly met by a hail of green Photon bullets. When it seemed all clear, Danielle noticed a buzzing sound in the air. "Huh?"

"Oh great… Mothmants," Rico muttered. Danielle frowned, recalling when one of them had attacked her, its needle-sharp mouth going deep into her arm. She raised her gaze skywards, trying to find the Mothmants. That was when she spotted them, lowering some kind of giant nest thing. It had a large, purple sac-like body with green legs that looked like they were composed of vines. "You shoot down the Mothmants. I'll deal with the Monest."

"Uh, right." Danielle brought up the Handgun, squinting a bit as she aimed at the Mothmants that were now hovering about in the air. It was harder to hit them, since they were so small, but she took a deep breath, focusing on steadying her hand. Her first two shots missed them by a longshot, but the next ones hit their marks. The insects were blasted to pieces by the Photon bullets, their frail bodies unable to withstand the impacts. Danielle lowered the Handgun now, seeing Rico drive the tip of her sword down into the fallen Monest and finishing it off. She pulled the Red Sword out of the ground, swapping it for her smaller Red Saber as she looked between the eastern and western gates. "Hey, how would you feel about checking the east area while I go west? The warp to the entrance to the Dome would be in your section, but I want to check and see if there is anything in the other direction."

Danielle hesitated now, a bit uncertain. "Are you sure…?"

Rico nodded. "And if you can't handle them on your own, head over to my end, okay?"

Danielle took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Okay." She watched Rico head through the western gate before she turned to the one she was to go through. The large circular area beyond it seemed clear. A set of bio-scan gates, their lines currently red, blocked a warp pad tucked away in an alcove. With the gates red, she couldn't get through.

Wandering around, she went to one of the corners where a small space was hidden. There, her gaze fell upon a large, ancient-looking brown monument. Confused, Danielle looked up at the symbol located at the top. It was a circle with three points on it. For some reason, it seemed oddly familiar. But she had never seen the monument before, only heard about it. Danielle brushed her hand against its weathered surface, wondering why it felt so strange. It didn't just feel old. There was something else, something she couldn't really describe. A chill ran up her spine, coldness wrapping around her like a blanket. A fog settled in her mind, distorting her thoughts as flashes of images shot through her mind while a strange dark voice whispered words she couldn't understand. She was sinking into darkness, the dark presence taking her in, willing her to sleep…

"Danielle! Danielle, wake up! Hey, Danielle!"

Danielle winced, forcing open her eyes. Rico was kneeling over her with a worried look on her face. She had never seen Rico this worried before, but why was she like this? What happened? "Ugh…" she groaned, her head throbbing as she closed her eyes. She felt so tired still.

"Danielle, stay with me! C'mon, stay with me!" Rico shook her slightly, one warm and wet hand against the side of her neck over her carotid artery. "Don't close your eyes! You have to stay awake!"

Danielle tried to focus. She had remembered blacking out after touching the pillar, but why? And why was it so hard to breathe? "R-Rico…?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here." A relieved look spread across Rico's face as she pressed her fingers slightly to the side of Danielle's neck. "Good. Your heart rate's almost normal. I was worried you wouldn't pull through."

"Wouldn't pull through?" she managed to murmur weakly, feeling Rico's hand against her back as the hunter helped her to sit up.

Rico nodded. "When I came in, there were a bunch of animals all around. I thought that maybe they got you, but there wasn't a scratch on you when I found you. You weren't breathing, and your heart had almost stopped. If I had been any later…"

Danielle realized that she was shivering slightly as she gazed up at the monument. All of this had happened when she had touched it. Much to her surprise, though, it was now glowing. Strange characters adorned its surface, glowing with golden light. The circular symbol on top glowed with red light instead of gold. What had happened to her exactly? She was confused and scared. That feeling… it wasn't one she wanted to have to endure again.

Rico carefully pulled her back slightly to where Danielle's back was resting against one of the rocky walls covered with vines, her red eyes filled with concern. "Just take it easy and rest a bit… We won't move on until you're ready." Her eyes flickered back towards the monument now, and Danielle realized that Rico was curious about investigating it.

_Well, she is a scientist, too. Not just a hunter. It's fine by me… I don't even think I can walk right now. _Rubbing her eyes a bit, Danielle watched Rico examine the monument, recording data into her arm unit. She looked really confused, a frown on her face as she glanced between her unit and the monument, murmuring something to herself. Finally, she let out a bit of a sigh, placing a message capsule on the ground at the base of the monument. "Any luck?" Danielle asked now as Rico headed back over to her.

Letting out another sigh, she shook her head. "No. I can't translate those runes… And that thing looks way too old to have been placed here when we arrived…" Rico frowned deeply as she looked back at it, then shook her head once more. "Well, no time to dwell on it… We need to keep looking."

Danielle nodded a bit, bracing herself with one hand against the wall behind her as she slowly stumbled to her feet. Rico handed Danielle her Handgun, which Danielle didn't even remember dropping. Nodding her thanks, Danielle headed out into the circular area and to the alcove with the warp pad. As they stepped into its teal light, they were both sent to the ledge above them, the Central Dome now towering over them. They proceeded through the gate in front of them, nearing the entrance to the Central Dome. They were about to see about opening the door when the ground shook beneath their feet. A massive ape with black fur and blue patches of skin on its arms had landed in the area. Its red face turned towards them, yellow eyes peering out at them before it beat its massive fists against its chest and let out a cry.

"W-What the heck…? Is that a Hildebear? I thought they were supposed to be friendly!"

Rico gripped her Red Saber tightly, a frown on her face. "Apparently now. Whatever you do, make sure that thing doesn't punch you."

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'm not going to even let it get near me." Rico rushed forward, Danielle covering her from behind with shots that distracted the Hildebear. Annoyed, it swung its massive fist at Rico, who ducked under the punch and slashed up at its wrist. It let out a howl of pain, stumbling back and holding its wounded arm. The Hildebear opened its mouth, shooting out a fireball that very nearly missed Rico. The ground just to her right scorched black by the fireball, Rico waited for it to swing at her again before ducking and ramming the tip of her Red Saber deep into its gut. The Hildebear's yellow eyes rolled back in its head as it toppled forward, nearly crushing Rico. Luckily, she jumped out of the way in time, pulling her weapon free.

Danielle lowered her Handgun slightly as she watched the fallen beast for any sign of movement. There was none. "You're lucky that thing didn't crush you when it fell… I wouldn't have been able to pull you out from under it."

Rico pushed a strand of her red hair out from her face, nodding grimly as she looked at the Hildebear's corpse. "Yeah. That was too close…" She walked over to the door, examining it silently. Danielle could tell by the look on her face that the news wasn't good. "It's completely shorted out. We need to find another way in." She adjusted her glasses a bit, scanning the area. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked towards one of the white walls, going over to a vent built into the side. "And I think I just found it."


	6. Growl, From the Depths of the Earth

Chapter 6: Growl, From the Depths of the Earth

   "Is it really such a good idea for me to be the one leading the way as we crawl through some dusty and dark vents?" Danielle asked quietly, pushing herself through the ventilation shaft, Rico right behind her. She had to resist the urge to sneeze what felt like every ten seconds, and she was starting to feel claustrophobic, the darkness closing in on her and making her heart race.

   "Yeah, the thought occurred to me just a little too late." Rico spoke up. She had kept talking to make sure Danielle was holding up okay in front of her. "Are you holding up okay though?"

   "Well, I could be better. I want to hurry up and get out of here. You think we're close to an exit or something?"

   "We should be."

   Danielle took a deep breath, hoping she was right as she continued to push herself forward. But after another push, she suddenly felt herself pitching downwards, her hands grasping at empty air. There had been a junction in the shaft, and her uneven balance sent her plummeting down the dark shaft with a scream. She tried to find something to grab and stop her descent, but the smooth metal had no handholds. Her hands were raw from the metal brushing against her bare skin as she tried to grab something, and the metal actually began to feel hot.  She gasped as the shaft suddenly leveled out in a curve, light abruptly filling her vision as she slammed through a metal grating and landed hard on solid rock, skidding and rolling several feet.

   She gasped slightly in pain, every square inch of her body aching or burning in pain. She didn't need to look at herself to know that her arms, legs, and face were scraped up from her landing, and she was still trying to catch her breath from the shock of the impact that had knocked all the breath out of her lungs. She just laid there, eyes squinted shut as she silently hoped she hadn't broken anything. Danielle was about to open her eyes and try to stand up when the ground shook slightly from massive footsteps, footsteps that were coming towards _her._

   _What in the world could be that big? Not even a Hildebear has that loud of footsteps from what I can remember!_

Danielle kept her eyes closed as the footsteps stopped, breathing slowly and evenly as heavy sniffing sounds filling the air just to the left of where she lay. Suddenly, something hot and slimy ran along her arm, turning it over and running along where the skin was scraped. The pain abruptly intensified, and Danielle struggled not to cry out in pain and fear. Something large pushed her side and turned her over onto her back. The hot and slimy thing ran along her other arm, and Danielle risked opening one eye slightly. What she saw nearly made her scream in terror. A massive dragon straight out of the legends on Coral she heard as a kid stood over her, its head down near her left arm, its long pink tongue lapping up the dark blood on her arm. Its yellow eyes locked with hers, and Danielle quickly shut her eyes, desperately hoping it hadn't actually seen that she was awake and alive.

   The dragon's tongue wrapped tightly around her forearm, pulling it slightly as its jaws closed on her all the way up past her elbow. Danielle's eyes jumped open and she pulled the Handgun from her waistband, just as the dragon jerked on her arm and flung her into the air with ease. Danielle screamed in pain as her shoulder was wrenched from its socket, the dragon's jaws opening and closing on her body instead around her midsection. Danielle felt its razor sharp jaws biting down slightly, its deep growl filling her ears. She managed to aim the Handgun into its mouth, feeling relieved that she at least managed to hold onto it. Taking careful aim, she fired the weapon, its green Photon bullets slamming into the back of its throat.

   Danielle was flung to the ground, landing hard on her injured left arm as she rolled slightly, the shrill roar of the dragon hurting her ears. She managed to look up, catching a full glimpse of the massive beast. A curved horn rose from the middle of its forehead, its scales a tan color with patches of dark green. Its two legs ended in three massive, deadly talons on each foot, its bat-like wings having two claw-like "toes" on the forward-most part. Its long tail split into two smaller sections near the end, each section having a deadly spike on it. All it even needed to do was step on her and she would be finished.

   The dragon growled, and with a flap of its mighty wings it rose into the air, glaring down at her with its yellow eyes. Danielle stumbled to her feet, feeling light-headed and dizzy. The dragon hovered high above the floor, and it was just then that Danielle realized she was within a massive cavern beneath the Central Dome. She squinted slightly as the dragon opened its mouth, flames rushing forth towards her, eager to consume her. Danielle's eyes widened, her entire body paralyzed with fear, unable to move out of the way as the flames eagerly closed in on her…

   Danielle felt arms wrap around her waist, and she was pulled down to the ground, a wave of heat washing over her. She cringed in pain as she hit the ground with her right side and dropped her Handgun, hearing Rico's voice over the roar of the flames and the beating of the wings. "Danielle, how bad are you hurt!?"

    Danielle felt weak with relief, but she was still in pain. "M-My arm…" she began, but the dragon cut them off with a mighty roar. It flew to the top of the cavern, tucking in its wings to its side and diving down towards the ground while spinning rapidly. It tore into the ground with ease, magma splashing out onto the ground, casting an eerie orangish glow over the ground near it. Danielle stood with Rico's help, her eyes searching for her weapon. She quickly spotted it on the ground, stumbling over to it and crouching to pick it up.

   "Danielle! It's underground!" Rico shouted as a deep rumbling filled the air.

   Danielle looked up, the burrowing shape of the dragon speeding towards her, the ground rippling. Danielle was slammed backwards into the cavern wall, pain shooting through her body as she collapsed to the ground. She could barely breathe, the pain sharp and unbearable. She had never taken a beating like this before, and she was worried that something was broken with that last hit. Danielle winced in pain, trying to pull together enough strength to get her good arm and her knees under her, but she just couldn't manage. She could barely make out Rico dodging the dragon as she ran over, slinging Danielle's good arm around her shoulders and helping her to stand. "There's no way we can beat this thing! We have to get out of here!"

   Danielle blinked rapidly, dimly wondering where they could even go. As her vision cleared slightly, she spotted a door all the way across the area, built into the rock of the wall. It was _Pioneer 1 _technology, and it was there only chance of escape. "D-Door…" she managed to say, nodding in the direction of it across from them even as the dragon burst from the ground and hovered in the air. As if anticipating their escape path, the dragon landed on the ground in between them and the door and let out a deep growl.

   Instinctively, Danielle tightened her grip on the Handgun in her right hand as Rico got a better hold on her. "We'll have to run by it. You ready?" Rico asked, looking over at Danielle. Much to her surprise, Rico looked slightly nervous.

   "To be honest… no… but oh well…" Danielle looked back at the hunter, her entire body hurting. It wouldn't be easy, but they had to try. "Let's go."

   The dragon roared at them as they ran forward as fast as they could manage, flames building up in its mouth. "Can you run on your own?" Rico asked quickly as she watched the dragon.

   "I think so!" As the dragon reared its head, they separated, Danielle managing a shambling run past the dragon's left flank. Flames scorched the ground where the two had just stood seconds before, the dragon missing them completely. Rico reached the door first, her fingers flying over the controls as Danielle joined her. The door wasn't opening. "Rico?"

   Rico had her teeth bared slightly, a look of frustration and worry on her face. "It won't open!"

   An incredibly loud roar came from behind them, a wave of fetid, hot breath washing over them both. Danielle felt her blood run cold as she and Rico glanced over their shoulders, the dragon's head right behind them. "Rico, you get the dragon…. I'll try and open this door."

   With barely a nod of her head, Rico drew her Red Sword. She spun around, swinging the blade with ease at the dragon's head. Danielle tried to focus on the controls, her heart pounding in her chest as she went over in her mind what she knew about messing with electronics. Praying she knew enough to get the door open, Danielle went to work. Both of their lives were at stake.

--

   Rico stared up at the dragon, sweat trickling down her face. She had barely arrived in time, saving Danielle from the dragon's flames. Now she was alone, trying to hold off the beast while Danielle attempted to get the doors open.

   Rico gripped the hilt of her Red Sword, swinging the heavy blade at the dragon's left leg. The Photon blade seared through its flesh, cauterizing the wound as soon as it was made. The dragon growled and snapped at her with its jaws, barely missing her. Rico swung up at its neck, her muscles straining slightly as she managed to land a light hit. The dragon spread its wings, lifting itself up with such a mighty flap that the resulting gust of air nearly knocked Rico off balance.

   Rico scowled and swapped the weapon for her Red Handgun, firing shots of yellow Photon energy at the beast. Much to her surprise, it began to spin rapidly in mid-air, somehow managing to keep itself hovering as fireballs shot down from it and rained down on the area. Rico strafed while firing at the dragon, shouting over her shoulder. "Danielle, how much longer!?"

   "I'm working on it! I just need a few more seconds!" Rico glanced back, the teen working on the door controls with a focused look on her face.

   "We don't have a few more seconds!" Rico looked towards the dragon once more. They were getting nowhere fast. At this rate, it would wear her out before moving in for the kill. Flames filled the dragon's mouth once more, and Rico turned and ran as a blast of hear washed over her back. It had been a very narrow miss. "Danielle!" she shouted, the flames building up again.

   There was a slight hiss from behind now. "Got it!" Rico spun on her heel, running towards the door and pumping her arms for speed. Danielle stood at the door, Handgun in her right hand as she fired at the dragon to cover Rico. As Rico sped past, she grabbed Danielle by the back of her shirt and jerked her through the door while slamming her fist down on the controls. The door hissed shut, just as the dragon's flames had raced towards them.

   Danielle was gasping, sweat running down her face, her left arm limp by her side. Blood covered the right side of her face and her arms, bite marks on the top part of her left arm, her chest, and her upper legs. Her pants were tattered and ragged, skin showing through on some parts, the grey cloth stained red in some places. She looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

   Rico looked around slowly, sweating herself from the intense heat of the area they were now in. It was a cave, rivers of magma flowing around them. There were large doors there, apparently installed by _Pioneer 1_. But why hadn't they been told about these caves? She never remembered hearing anything about them. What was _Pioneer 1 _hiding?

   "Danielle, sit down for a second. You're as pale as a ghost." The area seemed clear, so they could afford to rest a bit. She was worried for the teen, who nodded shakily and sat on the ground as Rico kneeled beside her, gently rolling up her shirt sleeve. It was as she thought. Her arm had been dislocated, pulled right out of socket. 'I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner," Rico apologized quietly, feeling guilty as she took some bandages from her storage unit. She used some of them to clean the injuries, wishing she had thought to bring more. Her supplies were limited. If they ran out, they would be in major trouble. "You're lucky to have survived that long against that dragon."

   Danielle looked up at her, dazed slightly. "I almost didn't…"

   Rico had her arms bandages, using a Resta technique to help with her injuries. She gently gripped her left arm, looking into the teen's blue eyes. She had done this before a few times, and she always hated it. "This is going to hurt, okay?" she warned in a soft voice. Danielle nodded shakily, looking scared. Tightening her grip, Rico cringed as she pushed the joint back into its socket. Danielle screamed in pain, her body quivering under Rico's grip as she tried to soothe the team. "Calm down. It'll be okay…" Rico whispered, Danielle's scream slowly dying away. She was holding her arm now, gasping heavily.

   "Ow… I-It hurts…"

   "I know, but it'll go away soon…" Rico sighed softly, rising to her feet. She wished she could do more to help, but she had to conserve supplies and the strength to use techniques.

   Danielle was starting to calm down now, slowly looking around. "Where… are we? What is this place?" she asked finally, apparently trying to take her mind off the pain.

   Rico shook her head, helping Danielle to stand. "I don't know. We're somewhere under the Dome, though."

   Now Danielle frowned, confusion in her eyes. "The government had to know about all this, right? So why didn't they tell us?"

   Rico went over the question in her mind. A dragon, underground caves… Why had the government hid this? Apparently they were conducting some kind of secret operation. That much had been gathered when she and the others had investigated the matter. But what was it?

   A hiss came from deeper within, followed by several more. Something was waiting for them from within the caves, and they had no choice but to go deeper…


	7. The Kink in the Wind and the Way

((A/N: I. Hate. The. Caves.

More reviews please…? hears crickets chirp))

Chapter 7: The Kink in the Wind and the Way

   Rico set down another message capsule, glancing back at Danielle. She looked exhausted, sweat dripping down her face. Rico knew she needed to rest soon. Her performance was suffering. Danielle had trouble hitting the altered beasts that inhabited the caves, her movements becoming sluggish. Rico was handling the heat better than Danielle, at least.

   "Gah… it's hot…" Danielle muttered for what seemed like the hundredth time, wiping her forehead with her good forearm. "We've been in here forever…"

   "It's been about half an hour," Rico corrected. "We should be getting out of these caves soon enough. I doubt they go on forever." Rico gripped her Red Saber tightly, walking over to where Danielle leaned against the wall, slightly doubled over. "Will you be able to hold up long enough?"

   She glanced up slightly, panting slightly, but managing a shaky nod. "I think so… Came this far, haven't I?"

   Rico gave her a reassuring smile, amazed by Danielle's strength of will. Despite being thrown into all of this, she was holding up pretty well for a civilian in such a crazy situation. "Well, if that's so, let's go then." Rico strode past her towards the metal door in front of them, which rose up as they approached it, the sound echoing through the caves. They made their way over the steel catwalk, the way illuminated by the orangish glow of the magma beneath their feet. Unlike the surface, the monsters down here were strange creatures, obviously not normal. It seemed like they were mutated versions of normal animals on the planets, but she had no idea what could have caused such drastic mutations. Some of them even had Photon scythes as parts of their appendages, which was a complete shock to Rico. They had managed to harness Photons as weapons, but these animals actually had Photons as natural body parts. Scientifically, it would be near impossible unless the animals were engineered with them…

   _Unless _Pioneer 1 _worked on something like that…__ Dr. Osto's a genius in genetic engineering. Did he have something to do with all this?_

   She glanced up as they stepped onto a long steel platform that spanned from wall to wall, the area beneath them filled with magma, rivers of it flowing in from cracks in the cavern wall. The altered beasts that inhabited the room turned to face them, letting out deep hisses. The Evil Sharks were bipedal, green, shark-like mutants with three yellow eyes along both sides of its head, a fin rising from the back of its head, and Photon scythes for arms. Pal Sharks were a dark purple color, while Guil Sharks were a good bit larger than their weaker brethren that were a mix of orange and purple coloring with yellow Photon scythes. About five of the Evil Sharks and one Guil Shark were in the room, two Poison Lilies just behind them. The Poison Lily was essentially an overgrown flower with three white-petals and a yellow mouth filled with deadly teeth in the middle. The mutant plants could spit out potent venom at their enemies from a distance, but it thankfully didn't go too far. Danielle was usually able to take them out with her Handgun while standing just out of range of their attacks. Rico had learned the hard way that if you got too close while they were weak, they would let out a screech that could completely paralyze someone… Only once had they encountered a red-petal Nar Lily, a more dangerous version of it with even more powerful poison.

   Danielle raised her Handgun, trying to breath evenly as she took aim at the approaching Sharks beside Rico. "Same way as before?"

   Red Saber humming softly, Rico readied the weapon. "Of course. Try not to get poisoned this time."

   Danielle cringed slightly, but then nodded. "Right. Sure thing." She squeezed off shots as Rico charged in, the Photon bullets whizzing a few feet past her head and slamming into the Sharks. The Guil Shark swung vertically at her, but Rico sidestepped with ease, bringing her Red Saber up and searing through its arm. It let out a hiss of pain before she spun and plunged the weapon deep into its side, ripping the Photon blade out and cutting into an Evil Shark in the same motion. She heard one come up behind her, its hiss sounding in her ear, but she also heard the sound of Photon bullets slamming into flesh. She glanced over her shoulder as an Evil Shark behind her sank to the ground, Danielle aiming at it. Two of the Evil Sharks that had gone after her were lying motionless on the steel floor, the final one drawing close. Rico watched as Danielle ducked and sidestepped a strike from it, firing right at its face and taking it out.

   _Heh… She's getting better._

"Rico, watch it!" As soon as Rico heard the warning, she stepped to the right, avoiding a poisonous glob that the Poison Lily behind her had launched. Cursing herself for her carelessness, she rushed in and sliced right through its stem, killing it in one blow while Danielle sniped the second one from a distance. Beyond the middle of the room, it looked all-clear, no monster in sight.

   "Uh, Rico, do you hear flapping?" Danielle asked now, walking over to her.

   Rico raised an eyebrow now. Flapping? She lifted up her head, straining to hear over the sound of the flows of magma, pushing up her glasses a bit. Yes… Now that she thought about it, she did hear flapping. She glanced around, blinking rapidly as a shadow passed over them. What looked to be a dark blue with tan patches of skin on its back dragon flew over them before landing on the platform. It walked on two legs, its long leathery wings a tan color, its sky blue eyes staring right at them from beneath its horizontal horns. The beast, a Nano Dragon, used its small hands on the ends of the wing to grab the floor as blue energy filled its mouth.

   "Oh shoot!" Rico grabbed Danielle and pulled her aside just as a piercing beam of blue energy tore through where they had just stood, searing the very air it passed through with an audible hiss. Rico glanced back at the beam as it slammed into the floor a few feet behind them before looking back at the Nano Dragon, rushing forward. It was starting to rise into the air, but she managed to get her Red Saber up and slash slightly into its underside before it got too high. The Nano Dragon roared in pain, staggering a bit before ascending into the air, glaring down at them. It was about to fly off when green Photon bullets pierced into its skull, the Nano Dragon letting out a final cry before falling to the floor and crashing into the steel.

   Danielle stepped forward, still cautiously aiming her Handgun at it. "Geeze… This place is just full of surprises…" she murmured. "Dragons, walking sharks, living flowers… What's next?"

   "I'm not too sure I want to find out." Rico shook her head slightly, looking up towards the now-unlocked door before them. What else would be waiting for them deep within the caves?

   _I'm not sure… but chances are we're going to find out whether we like it or not._

--

   Danielle splashed the cool water on her face, feeling relaxed and a lot more awake as she cooled herself off and washed most of the grime from her face. Rico did the same, kneeling beside her, her glasses resting on the rocky ground at her side. They had been lucky that the caverns had gone from being filled with magma to cooler, sometimes open-aired areas that were mostly filled with water. Above them, the sun shone down through an opening in the cave ceiling, the fresh air definitely as refreshing as the water.

   She glanced over sideways at Rico now, the hunter's eyes flickering around constantly even as she rested, watching for any enemies that may take the chance to attack them while their guard was down. Danielle watched her for a bit before looking back up at the blue sky above, her thoughts drifting to _Pioneer 2. _Would they be sending people down to the surface to look for survivors yet? And if so, would they find the caves like Rico and she had done and catch up with them?

   "Danielle?" Danielle looked over at Rico now, who had slipped her glasses back on. "You're thinking about them, aren't you?"

   "That obvious, huh?"

   Rico nodded a bit, rising to her feet. "Yeah, it's okay to wonder if they'll come, but think about it too much and you'll lose the will to go on, instead waiting and waiting for someone to arrive when they may not."

   Danielle couldn't help but frown a bit, the expression in Rico's eyes unreadable. "That's pretty harsh."

   Rico just shrugged it off. "It's just logical thinking. I can tell that you want to stay and wait, that you think they'll come soon. But we may never know when they'll come. We need to keep moving, try to find another way to the surface deeper in."

   Danielle glanced up at Rico now, who was holding an outstretched hand to Danielle. She paused, staring at the hunter's hand as she turned her words over in her mind. Yeah, she did want to stay here and wait… but Rico did have a point. She reached up and took her friend's hand, getting to her feet with Rico's help. "Alright. I'll try not to think about it too much."

   Rico gave her an encouraging smile, but Danielle could tell that behind that mask of determination, she was also worried about if someone was coming after them or not. Rico looked forward once more, striding through a door while Danielle trailed after her, wondering why Rico tried to hide her feelings.

   _She's trying to be strong for me._

Danielle looked up slightly as the light dimmed considerably, the two of them stepping back into the enclosed sections of the caves, the water up to their ankles. The first thing she noticed was another of the altered beasts right in front of them, this one a Grass Assassin. The Grass Assassins were essentially overgrown mantises about eight to nine feet tall with a light blue exoskeleton, a single large purple eye with four smaller purple eyes around it just above its silk-producing mandibles, and two _very _long light purple Photon scythes on its two front arms. She knew how tough they were. They took a good bit of hits, and once they tied a person's legs with silk, it was nearly impossible to get free. She had learned that the hard way.

   Danielle strafed to the right, firing multiple bullets at the Grass Assassin, trying to get into its blind spot on the right while Rico did the same going left. They turned very slowly, so constantly circling it gave them a pretty good advantage. She took careful aim with the Handgun, being careful not to hit Rico while she struck with the Red Daggers she had taken in her hands. The Grass Assassin dripped green blood from gashes in its exoskeleton as it kept trying to turn to face Rico, who always kept in its blind spot. Finally giving up, it just started for Danielle, but she was backing away while firing shots towards its head. A lucky shot hit its middle eye, and the creature hissed in pain, swinging wildly with one of its arms. Danielle lowered her Handgun, watching Rico swap the Red Daggers for her massive Red Sword, going in for a finishing blow. A single slash to the weakened part of its exoskeleton finished off the weakened Grass Assassin, and it let out a final squeal before falling to the ground with a splash.

   "You know, after fighting these things a couple of times, you figure out just how to beat them easily…" Danielle commented, glancing around the room now. "It's just--" She stopped now, spotting a monument in the middle of the room. She wondered how she had missed seeing it when she first walked in, but the thought quickly vanished as she walked towards it. "Hey Rico, they have one of these things down here, too?"

   Rico joined her at the monument, examining it with interest. "Apparently… There's no way that _Pioneer 1 _could have built this. They said the one in the forest was to commemorate the landfall, but if so, why is there one down here, too? Maybe an ancient civilization _did _exist on Ragol." There was a slightly excited look in her eyes as she slowly circled the monument, thoroughly examining it. "It's odd, though. The monument in the forest was activated when I found you, but this one isn't."

   Danielle stared at the dull brown surface of the monument, recalling what had happened in the forest when she had found the monument. "It wasn't activated at first," she spoke slowly. "I touched it with my hand, and then it started glowing…" She stepped forward, slowly lifting her hand to trace the weathered engravings on the surface. The entire thing lit up now, runes glowing with that strange golden light, the circular symbol at the top glowing blue instead of red. Danielle felt a chill spread through her, more powerful than when she was in the forest, the voice that whispered in her head a bit stronger now. Something called to her, called to her from below…

   She pulled her hand away, the strange feeling going away now. Danielle quickly tried to shake it off, not letting Rico see the fright in her eyes. Thankfully, the hunter was too busy trying to decode the symbols, inputting data into her arm unit while pulling out another message capsule from her storage. Danielle just wandered around the room now, wading through the ankle-deep water that felt pretty cold, but not as cold as the chill that had been in her body. "Danielle, you okay?"

   Danielle blinked rapidly, realizing she had spaced out for a bit. "Uh, yeah," she answered, looking over her shoulder at Rico. "You're done?"

   "Yeah, but I couldn't decipher the characters. Not enough samples of it." Rico looked down at her arm unit, eyes narrowing now as she stared at something on the screen. "We've got trouble. Behind us."

   Danielle spun around and snapped up her Handgun, but nothing was there. "Huh…?" She paused, feeling something slide by her leg, something colder and thicker than the water. She looked down at her feet, but all she saw was clear blue water. "What the heck…?"

   "Danielle, they're Pofuilly Slimes! Watch—Aah!" Rico suddenly cried out in pain, and Danielle spun to see a creature composed of blue slime. Its eye looked like a red visor across its face. A tendril of slime rose from the water a few feet in front of it, the slime having gone through the very ground itself, and ended in a blood red blade that was dug into the hunter's leg. Danielle raised her Handgun to fire when something cold and wet wrapped tightly around her neck, pulling her down and making her fall to the ground on her back. The water covered her face, going up her nose as she flailed against the tendril. The Pofuilly Slime that had come up from behind was trying to drown her while its kin kept Rico occupied. She could now feeling something slimy on her legs, creeping over her body slowly, a burning sensation sinking in where the slime touched. Her left hand pulled at the slimy tendril as her lungs burned from her holding her breath, the Handgun still gripped in her right hand. She fired rapidly at the blue shape she could barely make out a few feet from her, barely able to hear the hiss of pain from the Pofuilly Slime that she had apparently hit. There was another hiss now, louder this time, and Danielle was pulled upright just as she couldn't hold her breath anymore. Danielle gasped, taking in the warm, stale air of the cave. She rubbed her neck where the tendril had been, the skin irritated, seeing now that both of the creatures were gone without a trace.

   "That was close…" Rico said between gasps. "I've never seen… anything like that." She used a Monomate healing item in a small container to heal her leg, the deep gash closing up. Danielle nodded shakily, still sitting in the water as she brushed a strand of wet hair out of her face, taking Rico's now-outstretched hand and rising to her feet. "Are you okay? I tried to get to you as fast as I could."

    "I think so. Really cold, and my neck and legs hurt…" She wrung out her shirt as best as she could, shivering while Rico checked her legs and her neck.

   "That slime must have something in it that's acidic to skin, but thankfully it didn't do too much damage… You should be okay." There was a relieved look on her eyes as she stepped back, nodding to Danielle. She turned towards the other door now, her Red Saber held at the ready.

   Danielle walked after her now, frowning. Creatures like what they had been facing off against were definitely not normal. There was no way they were just average animals. Rico had called them altered beasts… "What… What if we run into whatever caused the mutations of these monsters?"

   Rico paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "Why do you think something in particular caused the mutations?" she asked over her shoulder, although it was obvious she was thinking about the same thing.

   "I'm not sure. I mean, you said these things looked like mutations of the normal animals, right? Something had to have caused it. What if it's something that's around here?" Danielle followed Rico through another door, relieved to see that the scenery was beginning to change. "Of course, it's probably just a wild guess…"

   Rico shook her head. "You're too critical of yourself, you know that? These things had to have been changed, but there's no telling by what. The government could have been experimenting with something and using these as subjects, but I doubt they purposely made them in such large numbers… We'll just have to wait and see what we find."

   Danielle looked up at Rico now, hesitating before nodding, continuing beside her friend. Not for the first time, she wondered just what it was that they were digging up.

--

   Rico sidestepped the red beam of energy that cut through the air, feeling the wave of heat coming from it. The creature that had launched it was a four legged, two-armed beast called Pan Arms. It was actually a pair of monsters joined together, the one of the left a blue color with an arm on its left side. The creature on the right was a tan color, its arm on the right. While they were joined together, their physical defense was nearly impossible to penetrate. She watched the conjoined creatures carefully as they began to maneuver around, the green holes on its front side facing Danielle now. Rico was tempted to use an attack technique on it, but decided against it. She would need to save her strength for whenever Resta was needed.

   Danielle jumped back to avoid the spray of blue energy, panting a bit. The Pan Arms finally decided to split up to attack them, roaring and stomping the ground, splitting into Hidoom and Migium, yellow and purple Photon blades extending from their claws respectively. They moved a lot quicker now, and Rico was forced to go on the defensive as the Hidoom's blade lunged at her. She parried the strike with her Red Saber, hearing Danielle's Handgun firing off rapid shots as she yelped in surprise. Rico glanced over at her, the Migium's blade barely missing Danielle's head, the teen's eyes wide. She aimed the Handgun right at its face, firing at its red eyes. With a strange moan it fell backwards to the ground, the Hidoom turning to look at its fallen twin. Taking advantage of this, Rico impaled her Red Saber deep into its back, eyes narrowing. "Time to join your brother," she murmured, ripping out the blade sideways and putting it out of its misery.

   "I know I've said this about nearly ever single one we killed, but what the _heck _was this thing?" Danielle muttered, wiping sweat from her forehead.

   Rico frowned. "Just another bit of mutated wildlife, I guess. We can only hurt it when it's separated."

   "Geeze… Giant bugs, walking sharks, poison-spitting flowers, and now conjoined twin monsters with Photon swords in their arms? What's next?"

   "I don't think I want to know." Rico sighed, rubbing her eyes a bit with her free hand before she lead the way once more. This entire section of the caves was filled with even more of _Pioneer 1's _technology. The pathways, catwalks, generators were all built by them. But what were they doing so far from the Central Dome? That was something she hadn't figured out just yet. Her feet clanged against the metal catwalk they passed over, water visible beneath them. She paused to glance through a door to their left that opened as they came within range, noticing it was a storage area filled with white boxes. This was the first storage area she had even managed to find in the caves, but she didn't hesitate to check them out. The boxes shattered as the Photon blade of the Red Saber cut into them, the orange and blue storage boxes that held weapons and armor spilling out. These were things Danielle seriously needed right now. "Let's get you outfitted with this gear. With how tough they've been getting, you need some protection," Rico said over her shoulder, opening one of the blue boxes that contained a lightweight, basic frame. Danielle pulled off her vest, slipping the frame over her shirt before pulling the vest back on. Rico slipped the storage unit on her left arm, attaching a Flame Barrier unit to it. "You know how to use arm units, right?"

   "Uh-huh. I watched another hunter do it once." She looked down at the weapon boxes on the floor, checking through each of them and storing a saber-type weapon with a blue blade, a Brand, a rifle with a blue Photon core, a Sniper, and a few technique disks. She swapped her Handgun for an Autogun, its Photon charge blue instead of green. She nodded when she was ready, going over the technique disks she had picked up.

   _Foie__, a fireball technique, Resta, the ice technique Barta and the lightning technique Zonde… All the basic techniques. She'll definitely need those._

Rico stopped, her gaze falling on a console beside a locked door that was different from the others they had seen. It wasn't as tall, a good bit wider than the others. With a slight frown, Rico tried to open the door with its control panel, but a red "Access Denied" message flashed across the screen. "Great. It's locked, and I don't have the clearance to open it," she muttered with a frustrated sigh.

   "Um, maybe I can," Danielle said quietly. "I did manage to get the door in that cavern open while the dragon was attacking us."

   Rico raised an eyebrow now as Danielle went over to the controls, an intent look on the teen's face. "This is a government computer, though. The one in that cavern probably had a lot less protection on it than this one, so I doubt it will be so easy to get in to—" The sound of the door opening cut her off, a surprised look on her face.

   Danielle wore a bit of a smirk on her face now, her young eyes filled with amusement.. "You were saying?"

   Rico couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Well, guess I learned the hard way not to doubt your talent with computers. You ready to go?"

   Danielle nodded, taking her Sniper from her storage unit now. She looked a bit surprised by the increased weight, but she seemed to adjust quickly to it. Rico waited for her to nod that she was ready, looking towards the now-open door and the dock beyond it. Preparing herself for whatever waited ahead, Rico stepped through the doorway.


	8. From Seeing the Rough Wave

((A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this updated. I finally worked on it while at school and got a good amount of work done on it. Done with it on paper.

BurnBlRD: Heh, thanks. I had trouble writing a lot of these chapters.

Chaychan: Thanks for the comment. I had to picture it in my head in several different scenarios until I got it to work.

Mutation Ivori: I got the idea from my friend mr.rubbish to be honest. He had done it in one of his stories. Glad you like it though.

Greyfirestorm: All I gotta do is keep typing it up. :P))

Chapter 8: From Seeing the Rough Wave

Rico couldn't hide her surprise as she saw the large dock that they stepped out on. What was even more surprising was the fact that there was a huge underground channel that stretched from end to end, going even beyond sight. Murky green water lapped at the edge of the dock softly, fluorescent lights shining down overhead with orangish colored light from their fixations on the cavern ceiling. A cargo raft, the kind commonly used to transport military supplies back on Coral, waited in the water at the dock's edge. On the dock itself were stacked sealed boxes of supplies. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that _Pioneer 1_ had built the entire waterway, but just where did it lead to?

"Rico, I've got a really bad feeling about this," Danielle muttered quietly, standing beside her.

Rico nodded in silent agreement, her eyes catching a flicker of movement near the dock's edge. It looked like an Evil Shark, but it was small and undeveloped, lacking the Photon bladed arms. Was this the original form of the creatures? Rico pulled Danielle behind one of the boxes, taking cover and watching the young creature with interest. It curiously poked around the boxes with one of its underdeveloped arms, letting out high-pitched squeaking sounds. Rico just peered over the box at it, catching sight of a slight disturbance in the water. A large centipede-like monster surfaced slowly, a large skull mask with a hole for a single red eye on its face. That one red eye locked onto the young shark with intensity, long tentacles with barbs on the ends waving in the air before one shot down, the barb plunging into the shark's flesh. Rico watched, appalled, as some type of liquid flowed through the translucent tentacle and into the animal's body. The barb pulled out as the monster sunk beneath the waves once more. The shark had fallen to the ground now, writhing In agony and screeching, its flesh rippling, especially that around its arms. Within the span of a few seconds it had become an exact copy of the Evil Sharks that they had fought for so long against throughout the caves, its blue Photon blade arms scraping the floor as it stumbled to its feet. "Danielle…" Rico spoke softly, not even needing to explain what the young teen needed to do.

The teen silently raised her Sniper, resting the bulky weapon on the top of the box as she took careful aim. She squeezed the trigger once, a single blue Photon bullet drilling into the head of the Evil Shark. It toppled over backwards out of sight into the water with a splash, sinking beneath the waves. Rico recorded a message capsule warning about what they had just witnessed and placed it outside of the door to the previous room, rejoining Danielle and scanning the rest of the dock. She didn't see the monster again. After a few seconds she finally rose to her feet, stepping forward.

Danielle gave Rico an incredulous look, her eyes wide. "Rico, what're you doing?"

"Getting on that raft. We need to move on."

"B-But that thing! You saw what it did! It could do the same to us!" Rico looked down at Danielle as she still crouched behind the boxes, holding the Sniper in her hand. There was a terrified look in her eyes now. After seeing what happened to the shark, she was obviously too terrified to go anywhere near the water.

Rico didn't blame Danielle for being afraid. To be honest, she was just a bit uncertain herself. Choosing her words carefully, she tried to sound encouraging and confident. "Danielle, if we want to get to the bottom of this, we'll need to take this risk and go on. If the monster attacks, we should be able to hold it off. We just need to avoid those tentacles."

Danielle eyed the water warily, not moving from her position. Rico held out her hand to Danielle, studying her reaction. She trusted Rico with her life, and it was evident by the fact that she took Rico's hand after only a few seconds of hesitating. Pulling her friend to her feet, the two moved slowly onto the raft, which came to life automatically. It left the dock at a slow pace at first before gradually speeding up. It didn't take long for a loud splash to come from the stern of the raft, Rico spinning around to see the giant creature from before leap out of the water. It was incredibly huge, diving back into the water with a loud splash before coming up along the starboard side of the raft. Rico didn't hesitate, taking out her Red Mechguns, her eyes flickering to the enemy information on her arm unit. It was De Rol Le, an Altered Beast and most likely the source of the mutations within the caves. She snapped the weapons up and pulled their triggers, a hail of yellow Photon bullets slamming into the bone mask the beast wore.

De Rol Le dove beneath the waves, vanishing beneath their murky depths. Rico took slow and even breaths as she looked at the water, Danielle kneeling down to steady her aim as she held the Sniper. "Danielle, be careful." When she didn't reply, Rico glanced over at her. Danielle was already aiming at the water when De Rol Le suddenly leapt up and latched onto the raft with two powerful mandibles just beneath its mask. The added weight titled the raft, and Rico very nearly lost her balance. She held down the triggers to her Red Mechguns, once more aiming for its mask. Even though the rest of its body was out of the water, all of it was covered in light purple armor.

Rico gritted her teeth, the raft tilting so much that they could no longer stand up straight on it. Rico quickly swapped her weapons for her Red Saber, plunging it into the floor of the raft to hold herself in place while Danielle slid down and landed with her feet on the bone of De Rol Le's mask. Pretty soon Rico wouldn't be able to stay on the raft herself, and the two of them would be plunged into the water, easy prey for the beast…

Alarms on the raft were beginning to go off, the engine sputtering before shutting down. A smooth, mechanical, female voice stated that the load was too heavy on one side and that the engine was being shut down until the load was balanced back.

Rico saw Danielle firing at something beneath her feet, shards of bone flying into the air. De Rol Le's tentacles waved over its head, and Rico instantly knew what It was about to do. "Watch out!" she warned.

Danielle looked up at her, firing one more shot that splattered green blood back on her slightly. One of the tentacles shot down, brushing against Danielle's side and slamming into the deck of the raft. Danielle gasped in surprise, wind milling her arms in an effort to keep herself balanced. As the tentacle pulled out and brushed against her again, Danielle lost her footing and fell sideways into the water. Rico bared her teeth, bracing her feet against the raft as she pulled out the saber and dropped down, narrowly avoiding another tentacle strike. Aiming right for where Danielle had managed to shoot through the mask, she plunged her Red Saber into the dark red flesh beneath. The Photon blade tore easily through the small opening in the armor, searing through flesh and muscle.

De Rol Le roared in pain, releasing its powerful hold on the raft and sinking back into the water. The other side of the raft fell back into the water with such a jolt that Rico nearly lost her balance and fell to the floor of the raft. She looked around frantically for Danielle now, trying to find the teen before the raft started back up. She had fallen into the water, but Rico didn't see her just now. If she was still in the water when the raft started up…

"Danielle! Where are you?" she shouted, her voice echoing off the tunnel's walls. A slight splashing noise came from the stern of the raft, and Rico instinctively readied her weapon even as she realized that the splashing wasn't nearly as loud as that of De Rol Le's. That was when she saw Danielle swimming as fast as she could towards the raft. Behind her, De Rol Le slowly rose from the water, hunting its helpless prey. In seconds it would get her, and there was nothing Rico could do to help her. "Watch out behind you!" Rico warned, even though she knew it was too late.

--

Danielle felt a burning pain in her arms and legs as she swam, gasping for air and trying not to swallow any of the disgusting-looking water that she swam in. As soon as she had fallen into the water she had stored the Autogun, incredibly thankful that the arm unit still worked even in water. She could almost feel De Rol Le behind her, bearing down on her quickly. A shadow loomed over her, and Danielle looked back to see the beast rising out of the water. It would come down and crush her, either drowning her or leaving her as an easy target to be mutated into some deformed monster…

_Dive!!_

Danielle dove down into the murky water, getting tossed about in the strong current as De Rol Le crashed into the water. She struggled to get her bearings straight and swim for the surface, but she was so disoriented she couldn't tell which way was up. Her lungs burned, yearning for oxygen. As soon as her head broke through the surface, Danielle gasped heavily and clawed at the air, attempting to grab onto the metal raft. Danielle felt powerful hands grab her arms and pull her out of the water, and she squinted her eyes to see a very relieved Rico. "How did you manage to survive? I thought it crushed you!"

"I… I dove…" she managed to gasp between breaths. The raft shuddered slightly as the engine came to life, once more continuing its trip down the underground channel. "Is it… gone?"

Rico frowned, pulling Danielle up to her feet. "I don't think so. I hurt it, but not as much as I had hoped to."

Danielle tried to calm her racing heart, adrenaline pumping through her body as she tried to recover from swimming so hard in such a short amount of time when she wasn't used to it. She could hear a sound down the tunnel that was fast approaching them, the sound like something huge crawling on the ceiling. Immediately, Danielle took out her Sniper and aimed up at the rock ceiling, peering through the scope and spotting De Rol Le crawling very quickly across the ceiling in their direction. "Watch out!" she shouted as rocks cascaded down from the ceiling and into the water, beginning to fall on the raft. Danielle dove out of the way as one of the rocks nearly slammed into her head, another just barely missing her right hand before they rolled off into the water.

Danielle was about to ask Rico if she was okay when she heard the sound of mechguns firing above the splashing of rocks. De Rol Le now dropped from the ceiling ahead of the raft, swimming in front of it. It still didn't seem fatigued, their attacks barely doing anything to it. "Rico, I don't think we can keep this up! We're barely hurting it!"

Rico shot a backwards glance at Danielle as she got to one knee and readied her Sniper. Taking aim, she fired at De Rol Le as it began to come up on the starboard side, trying to aim where its chitin armor was weakest. It jumped slightly out of the water, purple spheres of energy shooting out from its flank in a wave at them. Danielle brought up her arm unit, the Flame Barrier coming alive to block the energy, flaring up as the spheres slammed into it. Danielle glanced sideways at Rico, who now held her huge Red Sword. De Rol Le leapt over the raft to the port side, and in this instant, Rico shot up the heavy blade in an overhead swing that sliced deep into the belly of the beast. Green blood splattered the deck as it landed in the water, screeching somewhat in pain.

Danielle remained in her kneeling position as she fired at De Rol Le, shouting over the sound of her shots. "You have a plan yet, Rico?"

"Yeah, I do. Next time it jumps on the raft, just hold on and let me handle it." Danielle raised an eyebrow somewhat but didn't protest, knowing that the hunter was way better at this than she would ever hope to be. Still firing, she braced herself as De Rol Le fell back slightly before leaping onto the raft and clamping onto it. She stepped back and watched Rico rush forward, swinging her Red Sword and slicing deep into its neck. De Rol Le pulled away now with a screech of pain that hurt Danielle's ears before it sunk beneath the waves and vanished from sight.

Danielle looked around, noticing that they were heading for a large set of open gates, the light beyond it tinted orange. The raft passed through the gates and began to slow down as it approached a dock. It didn't seem that De Rol Le had followed them through the gates, but as soon as the raft stopped at the dock, Rico leapt up onto it and helped Danielle up. "That was way too close," Rico murmured, looking down at Danielle. "Did it get you at all?"

Danielle hadn't even thought about this, having been too distracted trying not to become food for that monster. "I don't think it did. I don't remember it hitting me," she spoke as Rico checked for any injuries, Danielle standing there in soaking wet clothes.

"It didn't. We're pretty lucky for that, too." She glanced back to eye the water warily before turning and approaching the only door on the dock. It didn't open as they approached, a military keypad near it. She pressed a few keys on it, but the thing was pretty much scrambled at the moment. "Locked again. Can you get this one open?"

Danielle had finally caught her breath now, joining her at the keyboard. Her entire body was weary from the battle, and she moved somewhat sluggishly. "Yeah, I think so…" She once more went over everything she knew about hacking into locking programs, trying not to rush too fast and make any stupid mistakes. Eventually the door hissed open, revealing a long corridor brightly lit by lights. Danielle knew almost immediately that this technology belonged to _Pioneer 1_. "Wow… They made all of this, but why?"

Rico shook her head, looking just as confused as Danielle felt. "I have no idea. First the caves and now this place?"

As she proceeded forward, Danielle cautiously followed behind. For some reason, this seemed familiar, almost like she had been here before. A hint of fear crept through her, making her heart race painfully fast once more.

_Why am I so scared? There's nothing to be afraid of here, not to mention I've never even seen this place before. And besides, even if something did attack, Rico and I can take care of it. So what am I so afraid of?_

"Danielle? You okay? You zoned out for a minute."

Danielle glanced around rapidly in slight confusion before she noticed Rico looking back at her with a slight hint of concern in her dark red eyes. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm okay. I guess I just got lost in thought." She stared forward once more, trying to push that creeping fear out of her mind. Maybe she would get the answers for those questions that nagged at the back of her mind later. For now, they had more important things to do.

They had gotten about halfway down the corridor when Rico held out a hand to stop her with a slight frown on her face. Before Danielle could as what was wrong, Rico silenced her and motioned on ahead. There was a slight mechanical whirring, a humming sound, then the clanking of metal. It was almost like something was walking towards them, something clad in metal.

"Seems like we've already got some company." Rico wielded her Red Saber once more, lifting it up with its tip facing towards the sounds.

Danielle withdrew the Autogun from its storage, taking a deep breath. She was physically exhausted right now, but they couldn't stop. No matter where they went, they would always be hunted by their enemies.

_Hunted… and being driven deeper and deeper._


	9. Empty Space Out of Control

Chapter 9: Empty Space Out of Control

What had awaited them through the door at the end of the hallway had surprised Rico. The area was built completely of _Pioneer 1_'s technology. The rooms were brightly lit with fluorescent lights that reflected off the clean white floor, showing their reflections somewhat. Computer monitors and miscellaneous equipment were scattered about, data and readouts scrolling down the light green screens. Rico had immediately tried to get into the computers to see what information about this place they held, but nothing came up. It was then, while they were both trying to figure out a way to get the data they wanted, that they first came across the guardians of this place.

The halls were filled with robotic guardians, ones that Rico recognized as formerly being used for industrial work. They had been modified and changed to fit a combat role, something that Rico knew couldn't have been done by any monster. The question that now nagged at the back of her mind was if this was done by someone from _Pioneer 1_. If so, then why?

Rico plunged her Red Daggers into the grayish-black chests of two humanoid robots that stood just above her height, ripping them out sideways and cutting through the vital circuitry of the robots. Their three red robotic eyes dimmed as they crashed to the ground with a loud clatter. A third came from behind, but Rico spun around swiftly and sliced through its neck with ease, oil spilling from the severed connections as it joined the first two Gillchics. She stared at the fallen robots before looking past it, seeing Danielle cornered by three of the machines, her Autogun firing rapidly. There was a fourth one closer to her, and it had braced itself while raising its right arm, a crossbow-like apparatus opening.

"Danielle, catch! Aim for their heads!" she shouted, placing the Red Dagger in her left hand with the other in her right, taking out her Red Handgun and slinging it high up into the air. Danielle raised her head and managed to catch it in her right hand, firing both of the weapons at her attackers now with her teeth bared. As she aimed at the two Gillchics on the right and left, the Photon shots melted quickly through the metal and destroying the vital circuitry in their heads. Rico watched as the panting teen brought the guns together on the final Gillchic that stood right in front of her, not even bothering aiming at its head as a hail of Photon bullets slammed into its metal chest and sent it crashing backwards, electricity crackling over its body.

Rico scanned their immediate surroundings, satisfied when she saw that nothing else was coming. She strode over to Danielle, exchanging the Red Daggers for her Red Saber as she placed a hand on Danielle's shoulder. Sweat covered the teen's face as she glanced up, still panting somewhat as she handed back the Red Handgun. "Man, those things are tough… Not even safe at long-range from those walking tin cans."

Rico couldn't help but break into a slight grin while she put away the Red Handgun. Even in this situation, Danielle was opening up and showing her slight sense of humor. It was good that she was no longer so tensed up and nervous. That would just result in mistakes during fighting if she was too tightly wound up. "Yeah, they're challenging, but it shouldn't be too tough if you watch your surroundings when you're fighting."

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be forgetting that anytime soon…" She cringed, rubbing the back of her left shoulder where one of them had managed to get a good hit in from behind. "We should probably get moving though, huh? Don't doubt there's a ton of those things around here if this place is anything like what the caves were."

_She's even developing some leadership potential. Maybe once we get out of this and find a way to let _Pioneer 2_ know we're down here, she can become a pretty great Ranger…_

Rico just nodded now, watching as Danielle brushed away a few strands of brown hair from her blue eyes. When she had nodded that she was ready, the two walked forward towards the only unlocked door in the room. The air was filled with the noise of unnamed machines doing their mysterious work in these mines. Rico couldn't help but wonder why the government had built such a place so deep beneath the ground. She had already left a few message capsules recording her thoughts and observations, including about how she speculated that this was where all of the missing materials from _Pioneer 1_ had gone. The technology here was some of the most advance that she had seen here on Ragol, which meant that the Alliance of Nations must have placed a lot of this equipment on _Pioneer 1_ before launch. But why? What were they digging for? And had her teacher, Heathcliff Flowen, been involved in all of this?

Rico stopped abruptly, the all-too-familiar sound of a short range teleportation system being used reaching her ears. She held out a hand to stop Danielle, scanning around to see where the machine was. Oddly enough, though, no machines were around them. The room was pretty large and square-shaped, doors at the four corners of the room. They stood on a platform that's flooring contained parts that were a translucent sky blue. She frowned and pulled up the area map on her arm unit, but no orange blips showed up. "Come on," she said quietly, equipping her Red Partisan now. She could feel that something was watching them, but what? And where in the world was it?

There was a metallic clang from behind them, something like metal hitting metal. Rico spun on her heel to attack, but she only had time to see a humanoid robot with broad shoulders and blue armor leapt at her with an energy blade extended from its forearm, its red eyes locked on her. Pain ripped through her side as she was hit, her armor taking the brunt of the damage but the force of the blow still enough to send her crashing to the floor. Her eyes flickered quickly to her arm unit, which identified the robot as a Sinow Beat, jumped atop her and pinned her to the floor with one hand. Even as she struggled against it, it raised its right hand, the wrist blade extending before it lashed out at her neck to deal a fatal blow. Rico had to let go of her Red Partisan to catch the arm, the blade mere inches from her neck. She could feel the heat of the Photons burning her neck as she struggled to hold back the powerful arm. "Danielle, help!" she shouted, arms shaking as the blade inched towards her skin. She risked glancing to the right for just a few seconds, only to see Danielle trying to hold her own against a gold-armored Sinow Gold.

The machine bounded forward with incredible speed, Danielle backpedaling away from it as fast as she could while firing her Sniper. The Sinow Gold landed and brought its blade down, sparks flying as it sliced cleanly through the Sniper. Danielle's face paled as she dropped the sparking remains of the weapon and took a step back, apparently trying to come up with a better plan.

"Dang it!" Rico growled, glaring into her attacker's glowing red eyes. Her anger burned bright within her, and she focused on using that anger to fuel her Foie technique. Where she gripped the machine's arm, the blue metal slowly began to grow red hot. The Sinow Beat's red eyes flickered sideways to its arm before it leapt backwards away from Rico. She wasted no time in rising to her feet and snatching up her Red Partisan. With a single swing the red Photon blade sliced through the wires on the neck, Rico spinning the weapon before impaling the tip straight through its head. Ripping out the Red Partisan's blade, she let the machine drop to the floor while spinning to face Danielle's attacker.

By now Danielle had drawn her Autogun and was doing a pretty good job of dodging most of the strikes. That was, until now. She was backed against a wall with no place to go, the Sinow Gold leaping through the air at her with a slight whine of its leg servos. Danielle ducked and dove to the ground, the machine getting its blade stuck in the wall as sparks flew. Danielle scrambled to her feet and took aim at its legs, firing at the back of its knee joints. The Sinow Gold crashed to the ground, not even able to get its arm beneath it before a trio of Photon bullets pierced into its head.

_She's getting better, _Rico thought to herself before she turned to face another Sinow Beat that had dropped down. Instead of attacking, this one crossed its arms, strange energy flickering about its frame before several copies spread out around them from it. To make matters worse, the small floating machines called Canadines had also appeared, most of them rising into the air to attack with long range Zonde strikes.

"Uh, Rico?"

"Take out the Canadines and cover me! I'll handle the Sinow Beat!" She slid into a fighting stance with the Red Partisan, the copies all starting towards her. She was trying to figure out which one was the real one when she noticed a distinct difference.

_Only one of them has a different color of light on its shoulders…_

Smirking, Rico rushed in while Photon bullets flew overhead at the hovering, green-armored Canadines that targeted her with a red laser. The original Sinow Beat went to pull back its arm to strike, but Rico dashed right by while plunging the Red Partisan into its side near the shoulder joint. She shoved it in as deep as she could before wrenching the weapon sideways, the machine shuddering as the Photons melted through internal wiring. She pulled it out now, watching it collapse to the ground without moving, its red eyes dimming.

Bits of metal rained down from above now, a Canadine that had very nearly shocked her with a Zonde strike exploding beneath the rain of Photon bullets. She glanced up, seeing the last one fall to the bullets being fired.

Rico relaxed as the doors ahead of them unlocked, her area radar showing the room as cleared of any enemies. She headed back over to Danielle, who was nudging the remains of her destroyed Sniper with her foot. "How'd you hold up?"

"Fine, but I can't say the same for my rifle. What about you? I saw that hit you took."

Rico glanced down at her side, the slight trickle of blood already clotting. She was fortunate that her armor had taken the brunt of the damage. "Nothing too serious, thankfully. If I hadn't moved when I did, then we'd have a reason to be worried." She rested the pole of the partisan on her shoulder as she checked the area map once more, trying to judge which direction they needed to head. "What I managed to find out about the area from one of those computers is that there is a lift down to the next level in this area. Since there were no survivors here, there may be some down there." She was starting for the door in the northeast corner, glancing over her shoulder at her friend. She looked like she was lost in her thoughts right now, much to Rico's surprise. "You okay?"

Danielle blinked a few times before raising her head to look at Rico. "Yeah, I'm okay… Just wondering if we'll really find anyone down there. With all of these crazy machines running around, do you really think someone survived both the explosion and them?"

Rico stepped through the doorway, spotting the service elevator she had mentioned before. "To be honest, I really don't know. But if there is even the slightest chance that someone is still alive, I won't hesitate to take it. I made a promise to protect everyone, and I won't give up searching." She strode into one of the lifts, Danielle following her in as she pressed a button to descend to the next level. Rico knew that there was something else troubling Danielle, something that she wasn't ready to mention just yet. She looked scared of something here, but what?

Biting her lower lip slightly, Rico leaned back as the elevator descended into the darkness.

------------------------------

Danielle cautiously followed Rico through the darkened hallways and rooms, wondering why this section of the mines seemed so run-down compared to the clean, bright upper level. There were gashes in the steel walls and over some of the computer panels, electricity sparking from torn wires and circuitry. Mining equipment was broken down in almost every place they passed through, the air carrying the smell of burnt rubber and melted steel.

"Stick close," Rico whispered as she slowly proceeded forward, Red Mechguns drawn. The room beyond the ruined hallway was pretty large, damaged robotic parts that looked like they were from a tan version of Gillchics littering the ground. With each step they nudged one of those chunks of metal, the unseeing eyes of the robotic heads staring up at them. Needless to say Danielle was pretty anxious to get out of the room, but Rico was taking it slowly and cautiously.

Danielle heard a slight humming sound, her eyes darting about the room quickly. "Rico…?" She held up a hand to quiet Danielle, her red eyes narrowing as she looked across the room. A small machine hovered over the ground in the northeast corner, yellow rods sticking out from the sides as it spun rather slowly in a clockwise direction. "Huh? What the…?"

The room suddenly filled with sound and activity, the pieces on the floor pulling together on their own to form completed robots. The Dubchics paused, not moving before their eyes began to glow and they activated completely. Danielle couldn't figure out how in the world they managed to come together after being completely destroyed, but Rico had already figured it out. "That floating machine is the control unit! Take it out, Danielle!"

"Uh, alright!" Rico stepped forward past her, swinging the Red Sword with such force that any machine struck was completely cleaved through. As soon as the parts hit the floor, though, they immediately began to reform and rise back up, shambling towards her now like some kind of zombie.

_Great, zombie robots_, Danielle thought grimly, leveling her Autogun as she aimed in the direction of the control unit. Several Dubchics were in the way, the teen having to dodge beneath several strikes while firing at others that stood right in front of her. The bullets weren't doing much good, so she took out her Brand instead and pushed through the robots. The blue Photon blade hummed with each swing, a path slowly being cleared in front of her. When she finally reached the control unit, she was about to cut the thing in half when a blow struck the back of her head and sent her crashing forward to the ground with a cry. She gasped, holding the back of her head as she glanced back at the Dubchic that stood over her, its laser crossbow aimed right at her with the beam charging. Still in a slight daze, Danielle rolled out of the way right as the laser bolt tore into the metal floor. She was right under the control unit now, and a quick glance over her shoulder told her that the Dubchics that weren't trying to overwhelm Rico were heading right for her.

Danielle rose to her knees and shoved the Brand's tip right up through the bottom of the control unit. Sparks flew as she withdrew the weapon, the machine exploding into bits of metal. The Dubchics immediately froze in place, electricity crackling over their bodies before each one of them fell to the floor with a crash, their pieces scattering. Warily, Danielle watched the pieces to make sure that they didn't reform again, but this time they stayed down.

Danielle let out a breath of relief, her shoulders slumping as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Rico joined her, looking pretty worn out from having to hold those things off. "Well, that wasn't too bad," Danielle murmured. "At least they have a really big weakness. Getting to the control unit is the hardest part of it." She cringed as she touched the back of her head, feeling a knot begin to swell up. Apparently the Dubchic had landed only a glancing blow. A full-on strike would have wound up with Danielle being totally knocked out.

"So far it's been easy to take the machines down. The hardest we've run into so far are the Sinow Beats and Sinow Golds. As long as we don't run into anything worse, we should be okay." She was smiling encouragingly, but as she glanced forward at the door in front of them, her smile faded. "I just hope we find someone soon… We've been at this forever. We need to rest."

Danielle glanced up at Rico, noticing her friend's weariness. Their short breaks had barely been enough to keep them going. Even the hunter was getting worn out from the constant fighting. But was there really any place for them to rest at in these mines filled with out-of-control robots?

_How long have we been down here? There's no way to tell if it's a day or night anymore. Has it been days…? I can't tell anymore…_

Rico saying her name snapped her out of her tired thoughts. Danielle shook her head a bit, feeling like a thick fog had settled in her mind. "Sorry… My mind wandered… You mentioning that we need to rest reminded me of just how tired I am. Heck, I can't even think straight right now."

"It's okay. Just try to focus as best as you can. We'll take a break soon." Rico pushed up her glasses slightly, red eyes narrowing as they stepped through into another hallway. As soon as Danielle took a step forward, Rico grabbed her shoulder to hold her back. "Don't. The hallway is filled with mines."

Danielle blinked rapidly, squinting as she tried to spot the said traps. "I don't see them…"

Rico tapped the side of her glasses slightly, smirking just a bit. "These aren't just for helping me to see, you know. The lenses are made to detect traps also." She took out her Red Handgun, taking careful aim and shooting down the hovering traps as she slowly proceeded down the corridor. The next room stretched out a good ways in front of them. Computer screens that opened and closed lined the wall straight across from them, a single door in the middle. For some reason, fear gripped her heart tightly in its icy hand, Danielle trembling a bit.

_Why? Why am I so scared? Something about this place… I can't go inside…!_

She froze up now, her heart racing quickly as she panicked. A strange mechanical sound came from behind. Something huge had begun moving, the whine of joints and servos reaching her ears. Rico had glanced back, eyes growing wide at whatever she saw behind them. At the same time, a hulking green-and-orange assault mecha appeared in front of them, its multiple red eyes glowing as it started up, the double-headed axe that was the emblem of the _Pioneer 1_ Army on the side of its "shoulders". Hatches opened on its armor, revealing several red-tipped missiles in their launch tubes.

"Uh, Rico…" Danielle stammered, swallowing hard. This was not good.

"I see them. Garanz… As soon as they fire, run. Those homing missiles aren't too fast. We should be able to—" She was cut off by two Sinow Beats and two Sinow Golds dropping down from the ceiling, one on each side of the Garanz.

_This really isn't good. What the heck are those huge Garanz doing in a place like this? Are they guarding something?_

Danielle gripped her Autogun tight, her blue eyes flickering about the room quickly. "Well, uh… got a plan?" she asked Rico, glancing sideways at her as her friend drew her Red Sword.

Rico stared down the Sinow Gold in front of her as its energy blade extended from its wrist. "Yeah," she answered, lifting the Red Sword with ease despite the exhaustion she was feeling right now. "Take them all out."

The Sinow Gold directly in front of them leapt forward, as did the other three. The missile hatches on the Garanz's swung open as they unleashed their missile payloads on the two survivors.


	10. The Crazy Program

Chapter 10: The Crazy Program

Rico swung the massive Red Sword as hard as she could, cleaving through the armor of a Sinow Beat and Sinow Gold as they were in midair and leaping at her, the halves flying past her and clattering to the ground. She glanced up with narrowed red eyes as the missiles that the Garanz in front of her had launched approached rather slowly, her entire body acting on the instinct that made her one of the best hunters there were. She rushed past the salvo and headed straight for the Garanz, not even glancing back to see the homing missiles slowly arc around to come at her. With a flick of her wrist she swapped weapons, drawing the Red Saber now. As she went past, she plunged her weapon into the exposed orange steel of its side, the Photon blade melting through the metal and tearing into circuitry. Rico didn't slow down, ripping out the Red Saber and taking cover behind the Garanz. A wave of heat washed over her, explosions pounding in her ears as the homing missiles didn't turn fast enough and slammed into the assault mecha. With a final mechanical whine, its armor blasted apart by its own missiles, the Garanz collapsed to the floor with electricity crackling along its surface.

Without wasting a second, Rico moved out from behind the sparking remains of the Garanz just in time to see the second one fall, hit also by its own missiles. Blue and gold scraps of metal littered the floor, and it took a moment for Rico to realize that the missiles had destroyed not just the Garanz, but both of the Sinows. Danielle walked out from behind the Garanz, glancing down at it uneasily as she joined Rico in the middle of the room. She looked just a bit surprised at what she had managed to do. "Wow, didn't expect that to work. It's a nifty little trick, getting these guys to shoot themselves with their own missiles…"

Rico smiled a bit, impressed that she had either figured out what Rico had been going to do herself or had come up with the idea when she realized they were homing missiles. Thinking on one's feet was a vital trait to survive as a hunter. "It'll be useful if we have to face more of them." Her smile fell away now, being replaced by a troubled look as she glanced over her shoulder at one of the fallen Garanz. "I don't get it, though… Why would such heavy assault mecha be stationed down here? Are they guarding something?"

Danielle shrugged, glancing past it at the unlocked door that awaited them beyond the destroyed robot. "Maybe… whatever it is that they were guarding is through that door…"

Noticing that her voice sounded unusually strained, Rico glanced over at her companion. She looked scared, even though she tried to hide it as best as she could. Something was haunting her, troubling her. Ever since they had entered the mines, Danielle had been having slight changes in her personality. If anything, she was becoming way more hesitant and anxious than she had been before. Choosing her words carefully, Rico began to speak. "Danielle, tell me what's wrong. Ever since we've come down here, you just haven't been yourself…"

Danielle tore her gaze away from the door and looked up slightly at her friend, running a hand through her hair. "I… I don't know… There's something about this place that just gives me the creeps." She paused for a second, seeming like she was trying to gather her thoughts. "I think… I've been to this place before."

Surprised, Rico just stared at her. She had been here before? "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I really came here… It all seems familiar, but I'm just not sure… I can't remember exactly, but it just feels like I have, you know?" She looked up at Rico, confused and worried as she tried to get what she was feeling out in words, even though it had to be pretty difficult. "It's right there… but I can't get a hold on that one memory…"

"Like when you wake up from a dream and it slips out of reach. You can faintly remember parts of it, but not the whole thing."

Danielle nodded somewhat now. "Yeah, that explains it pretty well. Let… let's just get through here as fast as possible, okay? I don't want to be here any longer than needed… It really gives me the creeps."

Rico gently gripped her shoulder, trying to give her an encouraging look. "Don't worry, we will. Come on." She lowered her hand and walked forward towards the door, thinking about that strange and distant look that had been in her friend's eyes. There was something that she wasn't telling Rico, something that bothered her even more. But did Danielle herself even know what it was?

The door slid open, revealing a rather long corridor clear of any dangers. Computer screens lined the walls, processing unknown data that Rico couldn't understand too well. Some detailed various reports on energy levels from different sections of the mine while others reported on mining output. Frowning, Rico glanced closer at the screen. What had they been mining for? The data scrolled by too fast for Rico to read all of it, so she just finally gave up and continued on. "What were they doing here?" she murmured to herself, frowning as she stepped through the door ahead of them. What she saw made her stop with a startled gasp, her gaze taking everything in. They were in a type of laboratory!

Banks of computers were scattered about the room, large stasis chambers connected to two computers lining the walls. What was so disturbing was the size of those chambers. They could easily hold a human being in them, but none of them were active or filled right now. There was something about the room that made Rico shudder as she took a slow step forward. Terrible things had gone on in here. The air felt heavy, Rico's heart racing with each breath. Evil had been done here, great and terrible evil performed by her own people, the ones she had sworn to protect. She glanced over at Danielle now, whose face had drained of just about all its color, a nervous look on her face. She didn't say anything, her eyes darting about the room faster than what Rico could keep up with. Obviously she was even more troubled than what Rico was.

"Come on," Rico said softly. "Let's find a way out of this place." She gently placed a hand on Danielle's shoulder, guiding the oddly silent teen towards a door on their left that slid open with a low hiss. Inside, surprising Rico even more, was another of the monuments that they had found in both the forest and caves. This one had computer surrounding it with data on their scans of the monument scrolling across the screens. Rico couldn't help but wonder even more what the monument was doing here as she entered the room with Danielle. Mysterious mines, a secret and ominous lab guarded by machines, a third of the monuments… She was fascinated by these monuments, the evidence of a lost race that must have existed on this planet once. As a scientist, she just wanted to study these monuments and see if she could decipher the symbols. But as a hunter, she wanted to find out just what the government was hiding with this place and what they would need with such a lab as this.

Danielle pulled away now, finally speaking up as she approached the monument. "Another one… but what are these things for?" she murmured, speaking aloud the question that had been in Rico's mind.

She frowned slightly, keeping a close eye on her friend as she recalled the last two times Danielle had touched the monuments. The first time, Rico had found her barely clinging to life in the forest. In the caves, she had spaced out for a second and seemed pretty distant afterwards. But why? Why were the monuments having these kind of effects on Danielle? Was it perhaps connected in some way to Danielle faintly remembering the lab?

She focused on the teen now as her hand touched the surface of the monument. Almost immediately it lit up, a distant look filling Danielle's eyes. Rico didn't hesitate, gripping her arm slightly and pulling Danielle's hand away from the monument. Danielle stumbled and nearly fell into Rico, blinking rapidly with a heavily dazed look on her face. But what troubled Rico the most was how cold the teen's arm felt. "What happened?" she asked, watching Danielle carefully.

"I… I'm not sure. When I touched it, I felt cold… I couldn't think straight. I felt…" She frowned, trying to think straight. "I felt like I was being called… beneath…"

_Being called? And to somewhere below here? Strange. I've been feeling like we're being led somewhere, herded through the underground by some unseen force. Maybe it's connected with what she's feeling._

"Just sit down and take it easy," Rico told her, helping her over to a wall so she could sit against it. "You're just exhausted. Get some rest." Danielle paused, seeming like she was about to say something when she just slumped her shoulders and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes.

Rico stared at her now, still recalling the feeling of her icy cold skin. She didn't know what was happening, but it worried her greatly.

_Is there even anything I can do about it?_

With a sigh, Rico crossed the room to the monument while accessing what data she had managed to gather on the monuments through her arm unit, trying to instead focus on translating the symbols. She still couldn't make out the meaning of the entire monument, but now she had enough data to translate some of the words. Rico frowned, examining the screen, reading the words that had been deciphered. "Light, darkness, pair, exist, unlimited, rule, seal…" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the slight hum of the computers. Now she grew even more confused and perplexed. Hoping to find answers, she only found more questions. Taking out a capsule, she recorded a short message that included the deciphered words and placed the capsule at the base of the monument.

_We just keep going in deeper and deeper… but what will we find at the end?_

Rico stopped now, contemplating the thought that had crossed her mind. What _would _they find? What would be waiting for them at the bottom of this? Would they find the answers they sought? Or would they discover some terrible secret that the government had hidden from them?

Her gaze drifted over to Danielle now, who had drifted off to sleep. She felt pity in her heart for this girl. Here she was, an innocent civilian with a father who had cared nothing for her and didn't even tell her that her mother was dead. Rico felt a need to protect her. The reason went far beyond the fact that Danielle was the only other survivor found. The teen felt like family to her now. Maybe it was because she had lost her own mother years ago at an early age and had grown distant from her father due to how strict he was. And here was this girl who had no family with a woman who lost her mother and fought with her father.

_The two of us are more alike than I thought…_

Letting out a tired sigh, Rico sat beside Danielle and tried to make herself comfortable. She had to get some rest instead of letting her mind wander. She glanced down at Danielle, noticing for the first time that her right arm bore needle-point scars on the inside of it. She sat up a bit, trying to examine them a bit better in the light.

_Wait… Her father was an expert in biogenetics along with Dr. Osto. These labs were probably under his command. Danielle thought she recognized them but couldn't remember exactly. All of these pieces of the puzzle…_

The one answer that came to mind about all of this was an unsettling one. There was no way that her father would have actually used his own daughter, his flesh-and-blood, as a test subject, would he?

"Her mother was murdered by Black Paper, the government's very own assassins. Dr. Sterling worked directly for the government alongside Dr. Osto. But… he wouldn't have been heartless enough to do something like that, would he…?" she murmured quietly to herself, confused and even more uncertain. The government she had fought for… were they really such demons?

Rico rubbed her eyes with one hand, sighing heavily, a headache beginning to come on. There was a lot more digging she had to do, but she knew that she was coming close to the answer of all of this. She could feel it.

_I'll protect you, Danielle, and we'll get to the bottom of this mess. Your father may have betrayed you and your mother killed, but I'll be there for you._

------------------------------

_Darkness… A cold and foreboding darkness that wrapped around her like some dark blanket. Every breath hurt, like her lungs were filled with ice. She couldn't move, couldn't cry for help. As the first tendrils of panic and fear began to seep through her, she could feel a terrible presence before her. It was ancient. She could tell it had existed hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. Not only was it old, but it was pure evil. It hungered for destruction. It wanted to consume the light and plunge the world into darkness. It desired freedom. It wanted to grow, to evolve, to devour everything in its path. And it wanted her…_

_A shape moved in the darkness, something massive. Her mouth went dry as a terrible creature rose up. Her mind couldn't comprehend, much less describe, the ancient beast that was before her. Its flesh shifted and moved, some kind of arm reaching out towards her. She tried to scream, tried to get away, but it was no use as an invisible force held her tightly in place. She shut her eyes, feeling that alien flesh wrap around her, drawing her in…_

Danielle jumped awake with a gasp, nearly screaming as her eyes flickered about the room quickly. Almost immediately she felt a pain in her neck, and it took her a second to realize that she had fallen asleep with her head resting on something. Danielle sat up slightly, stretching her neck a bit to get the crick out of it. She looked to her right, surprised to see Rico there asleep with her head back against the wall. Danielle's head had fallen on the hunter's shoulder as they both slept, and she hadn't realized it.

_I must've had a nightmare, _she thought to herself, rubbing the back of her neck. She couldn't remember what had happened in it though. It was all just a blur.

Suddenly Danielle grew alert, her blue eyes flickering about the room. Other than the soft hum of the monument, there was no other sound. Not only that, but the lights had dimmed considerably. The computers that had been recording data had all shut off, and Danielle couldn't help but feel nervous. Something very bad was going on here. Cursing herself for not noticing this as soon as she had woke up, she shook the Rico by her shoulder to wake her up. "Rico, get up!" she hissed, not daring to speak too loud. Rico jolted awake now, immediately alert as she looked around.

Rising to her feet first, Rico glanced around slowly as Danielle slowly stood up. Without warning, all the lights went out completely, plunging them into total darkness. Rico wasted no time in drawing her Red Saber, its Photon blade illuminating them in soft red light. She looked as worried as Danielle felt, scanning the room. The blade barely illuminated the room, limiting their vision.

Danielle struggled a bit with drawing her Autogun from her storage unit in the dark, frowning as she noticed one of the screens on the computer flickering to life, static playing across the screen before an image appeared on it. It looked like a strange head with red eyes floating there before the image vanished from the screen and it shut back off. "Rico…?" she whispered softly, hearing the sound of metallic footsteps outside of the room.

Rico didn't answer, her expression unreadable in the darkness. As she looked down at her arm unit, Danielle could barely make out her hand gripping the Red Saber even tighter. "They're outside. A lot of them. We won't be able to fight them back in the darkness."

"That face on the screen… What was it?"

"It had to be an AI. It must be the one who cut the lights and is coordinating the machines in here." Rico raised her head now. "Its control room must be nearby. We'll need to try and reach it as fast as possible, but it won't be easy. If we can get to the AI, maybe we can make it call off the machines."

Danielle gave her a bewildered look, even though she knew Rico probably didn't see it. "Try to make the AI call them off? That's impossible. How could we even make a machine do that? Heading to its control room probably isn't the brightest idea ever."

Shaking her head, Rico took a step towards the door. "It may be the only way, the only chance we have. Making it stop the robots may be nearly impossible, but we have to at least try." Rico took a deep breath, raising up the Red Saber now as even more footsteps could be heard outside of the door.

Danielle hesitated, shifting nervously from foot to foot. There were a lot of those robots outside, and she didn't share Rico's confidence. She just held on tight to her Autogun as Rico walked forward to the door, which slid open to reveal the glowing red eyes of the robots.


	11. Nowhere to Run

Chapter 11: Nowhere to Run

Their feet pounded on the metal as they ran through dimly-lit corridors, rushing through the rooms with the mechanical army hot on their trail. Rico's eyes darted around quickly, watching their surroundings while they ran. Only one door was unlocked and open in each room, and she couldn't help but feel that they were being led by the AI in charge of the mines to some unknown destination.

_I would stay and fight, but I don't have nearly enough supplies for both of us._

"Rico, the door's locked!"

She immediately looked forward, seeing the door before them. A palm reader was to the left of it, illuminated with teal light, and the door itself was designed different from what Rico could tell with their limited light. This had to be the door to the AI's control room, the monitor room. "Danielle, can you hack into the reader?" She looked towards the teen as they skidded to a halt in front of the door, noticing the look of uncertainty on her face.

"A hand scanner? I doubt it, but I can try. I've never even attempted something like this. All that I've learned was from messing around with computers without my dad knowing." Danielle swallowed hard as she stepped over to the hand scanner, glancing over it.

_Yeah, you may be self-taught, but you're better at this stuff than a lot of people I know,_ Rico thought to herself, watching as Danielle checked the device. When a panicked look crossed her face, Rico knew they were in trouble and immediately spun around, taking her Red Handgun into hand. She had it leveled at the last door they had come through, trying to figure out how long it would take the robotic army to reach them. Could she even hold them off long enough for Danielle to get it open?

Minutes seemed to pass by as she stood there aiming at the door, sweat trickling down her face. She didn't dare lower the weapon for even a second to wipe it away, hearing Danielle's soft mutterings as she tried to figure something out. Why hadn't they come yet? Had they given up the chase?

A hiss came from behind, along with the sound of Danielle gasping in surprise. Confused, Rico glanced over her shoulder, seeing the monitor room door now with a shocked-looking Danielle staring at it dumbfounded. Without wasting a moment, Rico grabbed Danielle by her arm and pulled her through. The door closed with a soft hiss behind them, the only sound in the room now the hum of the monitors and their heavy breathing.

Danielle pulled away slowly now, making her way to one of the computer consoles. Rico frowned somewhat, not sure what she was doing as she joined her friend at the console. "What's wrong?"

"Rico, look at these readouts… The government was mining for something." She still looked a bit uneasy about being in the mines, but now that she had found something that got her interest, she was immediately focused. She squinted, trying to scan the lines of rapidly scrolling text. "It was… the D-Factor?" Danielle murmured, looking confused. "Rico, isn't that the stuff they put in Mags?"

Rico gave her a surprised look as she asked this, not expecting Danielle to know about this. That was when she realized that Danielle had probably learned about it from her father or one of his associates. "Yeah, it is. It's put as the core of the Mag with the Emotional AI regulating it. It's an energy source somewhat similar to Photons, but it's different… They say that the D-Factor, the D-Cells, seem to be trying to change, to evolve." She was about to say more when the lights and monitors all shut off, plunging the room into darkness. Rico muttered darkly under her breath, taking her Red Saber once more from storage and using its dim red light to illuminate the keyboard.

Danielle tapped a few keys on the keyboard, a frown on her face. "What the? What's going on?" Danielle murmured nervously, keeping her voice low.

"Not sure. Try the computers."

"Can't. The keys are locked." Danielle glanced back at her now, worried.

Rico frowned as she looked around the rest of the room. Had it been a trap? Were they going to be stuck in here, left to starve and dehydrate, dying a slow death?

Without warning, red emergency lights began to flash as the normal lights snapped on, making them both recoil and forcing their eyes to quickly adjust. Alarm klaxons wailed while the monitors flickered to life, a strange machine lowering from the ceiling. Rico recognized it as an electrical generator that was capable of throwing bolts strong enough to kill an unprotected person. Rico gritted her teeth as she saw the floating head that was Vol Opt's self-created avatar, readying her weapon.

"Wait, we're fighting the area's AI? How're we supposed to beat it!?"

Rico frowned, not taking her eyes off of Vol Opt's circling avatar. "I don't know, unless…" She glanced at the background of the screens. The one that Vol Opt appeared on turned red in the background with a target reticule barely visible on the screen. "Hit those monitors that it appears on! Aim at the top screen and I'll get the bottom ones!"

Danielle seemed doubtful that such a strategy would work, but she complied nonetheless, taking up her Autogun and firing well-placed shots at the large screen Vol Opt was on as Rico took her Red Sword in hand, swinging the massive blade with ease at the smaller screen that lacked Vol Opt's image but still had the red backgrounds. Glass shattered as the weapon found its mark, shards of it pelting her face and scraping her skin. The room rocked slightly, a mechanical cry of pain filling the air. As the large screen shattered beneath the hail of Photon bullets, Vol Opt's avatar moved to another screen, but Rico and Danielle repeated their previous attacks on it.

Vol Opt turned to face them, abruptly vanishing from the screen as a mechanical hum reached Rico's ears. Six mechanical pillars about a foot higher than Rico rose from openings in the floor, robotic "faces" on each of them. All of them were composed of red metal with blue-lighted faces except for one, which had a red flashing face instead. Noticing energy charging near its top, Rico moved in to destroy it while Danielle fired as fast as she could. Unfortunately she couldn't move fast enough, the pillar and the volt generator on the ceiling launching a bolt of electricity that Rico, the charge surging through her armor before jumping to Danielle.

Rico bared her teeth, hearing Danielle cry out in pain. Electricity ran along Rico's armor before dissipating, the attack thankfully not hurting as much as what it could have. Her armor had taken the brunt of it. "Danielle?"

The teen was on her knees, gasping somewhat. Her weaker frame hadn't been able to absorb much of the damage. "I… I'm good… Just a bit stunned…" She shook her head a bit, trying to shake off the shock as she stumbled to her feet, glaring at Vol Opt's avatar. "This thing is starting to tick me off…"

Rico nodded, lifting the Red Sword up once more while holding its blade tightly. As soon as Vol Opt moved to the screens behind her, she spun and tore through the glass monitors. She caught sight of the avatar on the larger screen before it vanished beneath the rain of blue Photon bullets.

The entire room began to shake now, the glass of the unbroken monitors shattering as explosions rocked the monitors. Rico cringed at the wave of heat that washed over them, noticing that the ceiling was parting and a massive machine was descending into the room. Red steel armor covered its grey core body, four different sides to the machine. The side that faced Rico had a type of sleek-looking head with a blue visor and a glowing sky-blue section in the middle of it. To the left was a side with a gunmetal grey covering, and to the right was one with "vents" of the same color and a type of targeting laser on top.

Rico stared in slight amazement at the machine before her, wondering just why such a thing was built for Vol Opt. She heard a hatch open and Danielle's surprised cry before the sound of something launched reached her ears. Danielle began to run along the perimeter of the room, two homing missiles slowly closing in on her. Swiftly, Rico swapped the sword for her Red Mechguns and leveled them both, squinting somewhat. With a quick pull of the triggers, two yellow Photon bullets met the missiles head-on in midair, causing them to explode just out of range of Danielle. Rico only had time to feel a second of relief before she heard an odd sound like that of an energy weapon firing before a mixture of stone and metal shot up around her, trapping her in a prison. The sound of a weapon being charged reached her ears, and she knew that she was in deep trouble. "Danielle!" she shouted, unable to move to try and attack the walls of the prison.

The hum of a saber-type weapon was barely audible over the charging attack, Rico's heart pounding as each second passed on with agonizing slowness. Tendrils of fear crept through her as she prayed that Danielle could get through in time. Just as the charging reached a steady pitch, the pressure against her left side vanished, and Danielle's slick hands grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of that stone-and-metal prison. The force of Danielle pulling sent them both to the ground, Rico managing to catch a glimpse of the front of Vol Opt's mechanical body. Multiple lasers were all aimed at that prison, and in an instant there was a brilliant flash of light before the prison was completely obliterated in a single blast.

Rico slowly rose to her feet, shakily pulling Danielle up beside her. If she had been caught in that blast, she would have been instantly killed. She glanced over at their mechanical oppressor now, which was turning to face them, bringing the side with the vents to bear. Two targeting lasers locked on to them, the vents opening and red light building up.

_This thing isn't giving us any time to even attack it. How're we supposed to beat it?_

Rico hesitated, trying to figure out what its next attack could possible be. She was about to try to strike at it when she heard the screeching of metal from above. Her body acted completely on instinct as she grabbed Danielle and pulled the teen to the side just as a pillar of red steel tore down through the ceiling and slammed into the floor with enough force to dent the metal. Scraps of metal littered the floor as the pillar lifted into the air, preparing to come down again. Rico noticed that the lasers were still locked onto them at the same time as she saw the gap between the bottom of Vol Opt's body and the floor. It would be a very tight fit for her, but Vol Opt wouldn't be able to hit them there, giving them time to develop a plan.

"Dive under its body!" Rico shouted over the screeching metal while putting away her Red Mechguns. Not even waiting for a reply, Rico dove for the narrow opening, pushing her hands and feet against the floor to get into the gap. Danielle moved with a bit more ease due to being younger and smaller, managing to pull her legs in before they were crushed by the striking pillar.

Vol Opt continued to slam the pillar down repeatedly on the floor, almost as if it was furious that they were hiding from it. Rico allowed a slight smirk now, fixing her glasses with her right hand somewhat. "Smart move," Danielle murmured, sounding both impressed and relieved. "Get to where it can't hit us. But now what?"

Rico looked around a bit before glancing up at the metal body above them that was Vol Opt's core. Taking her Red Saber in hand, she nodded up at the body. "Hit him where it hurts, that's what. Get your Brand." She watched Danielle take the weapon out once more, having stored it in order to get under Vol Opt without injuring herself. Rico turned over onto her back now, staring up at the body. "One… two…" She tightly gripped the Red Saber, shifting around a bit to get into a good position for striking. The pounding became more intense, almost frantic, as if Vol Opt knew what they were planning.

_Let's see how you like this!!_

"Three!" Together, they thrust their sabers deep into the metal, the Photon blades melting slowly through the steel. Rico felt heat wash over her arms as the Red Saber slowly slid deeper into its body. With a jolt, Vol Opt began to retreat back through the opening in the ceiling, sparks and flame coming from the twin gashes in its underside. Rico rose to her feet, watching the machine until the hatch in the ceiling closed and hid it from view. Sweat made her uniform cling even more tightly to her body than it normally did, her glasses wanting to slide down her nose.

Beside her, Danielle stood up while trying to catch her breath, worn out from the running around and fighting. She was doubled over somewhat with her hands on her knees, her weapon stored once more. As she was about to say something, the only other door in the monitor room opened with a hiss, startling her and making her take a step back somewhat. Once she realized it was just the door, she relaxed somewhat. "Geeze…" she muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

"Come on, let's get out of here before it decides to come back," Rico suggested, not too keen on staying in here any longer than what she had to.

Merely nodding, Danielle followed close behind Rico as she led the way through the newly opened door. It opened into a passageway much darker than the monitor room, and as soon as they had passed through, the door slid shut just as stealthily as it had opened. Rico took a cautious step forward, her foot nudging several thick cables that were strewn across the floor. In the dim light of the corridor she could see those cables stretching on before them, all of them heading back towards the monitor room.

"What is this place?" she heard Danielle whisper. There was something about the air that seemed forbidding and oppressive, and even Rico couldn't help but lower her own voice quite a bit.

"I'm not sure. There's something wrong about this place, though." She cautiously continued forward, sweaty hands holding on tight to the Red Saber's hilt. She was careful to make sure that she didn't carelessly trip over any of the thick cables on the ground, noticing that the metal floor gave away to rough ground a few feet in. Not only that, but the passage was widening considerably into an antechamber hewed from rock. Containers of unknown supplies littered the area, the cables leading to a few scattered terminals close to an ancient-looking door. Awed, Rico stepped forward to examine the relic, realizing with excitement that this was proof that her theory was correct. "Incredible… There really _was_ an ancient civilization on Ragol! This is proof!"

She didn't notice how Danielle stared at that sealed door with apprehension and hesitancy, not sharing Rico's excitement about the find. The scientist in Rico was already bursting forth, and she recorded message capsules with a voice full of excitement. At the door was a computer with the military's translations so far of the symbols on the door. The program to examine the data was still running, but Rico was able to figure out what she needed with relative ease. The three circular symbols on the door's ancient surface matched those that had been on the three monuments they found, one symbol glowing red, one glowing blue, and one glowing green. Taking out one more capsule, Rico took a deep breath and calmed herself, speaking slowly as she brought up the data she herself had translated so far on her arm unit.

"The government was decoding the characters as well. Here is their analysis. I'll try and fill in the gaps with my own data. 'Light, darkness,… a pair, no,… exist, no exist… unlimited, seal,… MUUT DITTS POUMN.' She paused now, raising her eyes up to that door as she contemplated the words in her mind and tried to understand them. "What's the last line? An incantation? Seal, seal… What is sealed? Where? Is it this door? Was it sealed with the words MUUT DITTS POUMN? Maybe each word in the incantation represents something? We found three monuments… Are they the keys to open the door?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Danielle gasp in surprise and felt a slight rumbling beneath her feet. She immediately stood to her feet and stepped back from the monument, Danielle joining her with her Brand in hand. The ancient door was opening.


	12. The Forbidden Ruins

Chapter 12: The Forbidden Ruins

Danielle stared at the three symbols on the door as they flashed rapidly in synchronization. Her eyes drifting to the red symbol, she felt something akin to a cold hand wrap around her mind. Everything seemed to slip away around her. Rico was no longer by her side, the world falling away to darkness with those symbols flashing. Something was there with her, caressing her, holding her in an icy embrace. A voice whispered in her mind, a voice that had no gender and was ancient and alien. But it wasn't a cruel voice. It felt comforting, even though each word made waves of cold wash over her.

_Motavia. The burning fire of my rage. It shall engulf everything, consume flesh from bone, burn away my opponents._

The red symbol glowed steadily now before fading away. That icy presence grew stronger, and she could feel something right there behind her.

_Dezoris. The icy void of death. All shall enter it, none shall leave. It shall drain their souls away, shall leave a void in their bodies for my darkness to enter._

This time the blue symbol vanished. She could feel strange arms slide around her, holding her close. Danielle felt numb now. She wasn't scared, she wasn't calmed… She just felt empty.

_Palma. The eternal life that I carry. I shall reborn, a phoenix from the ashes, no matter how many times I may be slain. The lives that I devour live on inside of me, suffering for eternity._

The final symbol vanished now, plunging Danielle into total darkness. The presence was the strongest she had ever felt it so far, drawing her in. She felt lost now. She felt like she was losing her identity, drifting away in that sea of cold and the arms of the dark figure that held her. It was pulling her out of her body, drawing her in to it.

_Set me free… I want to evolve… To grow, to be free… Give me new life…_

Danielle felt a cold seeping through her body, pulling something out of her slowly. That was when she felt hot pain in both of her shoulders, something gripping them painfully tight, burning her flesh…

"_Wake… Danielle… ke up…!"_

_Become me…_

Danielle winced, that burning pain overcoming the cold within her. She was dimly aware that she was lying on the stone ground, something gripping her shoulder painfully tight. Her vision was clearing slowly, the shape of Rico hovering over her. Every inch of her body felt icy cold, her throat constricted and her lungs unwilling to take in any air. Rico was still shaking her somewhat, pressing both of her palms to her chest in timed motions. Danielle barely felt it, her glazed eyes staring straight up. It felt like her whole body was lightweight right now, and she just wanted to sleep.

Warmth poured down her mouth and into her constricted throat. Even in her barely conscious state, she realized that Rico was performing CPR. Rico pulled her head back and pushed against her chest again, speaking frantically to Danielle, telling her to wake up.

As Rico blew air into her lungs again, Danielle felt the warmth manage to penetrate the cold, her lungs suddenly beginning to respond and work. She gasped weakly, trying to take in as much air as she could. Rico's warm hand pressed against her back and pushed her up, allowing her to breathe a bit more easily. She felt so cold, so scared, as she struggled to inhale and exhale, her body not wanting to respond. Rico's arms wrapped around her as she spoke softly, trying to comfort Danielle.

_What… What have we done? What have we unleashed?_

Rico's hand stroked her forehead slightly, brushing the loose strands of hair out of her face. "I'm here Danielle. Don't worry, I'm here. Just keep trying to breathe."

"In… Inside… Rico… It's inside…" she whispered frantically, barely able to make herself talk.

She could barely make out Rico's face, but she could tell it was filled with worry and dread. Whatever had happened to Danielle had scared her out of her wits. "What? What's inside?"

"A demon…"

-------------------------------------

It had been a while since Danielle's sudden collapse and her near-death experience. Rico still sat with her, watching over her like a hawk. The teen's condition had barely improved, her entire body freezing cold. Rico couldn't understand what was wrong. Other than the few incidents when Danielle encountered the monuments, she had displayed no real affliction of any type that matched what symptoms she was showing now. A very perplexed Rico was trying to come up with some answer, some way to help, but nothing came to mind.

_Her father was a biogeneticist that worked with Dr. Osto. Dr. Osto had always showed interest in the D-Factor that was found on the meteor that hit Coral. Experiments with it on both living and artificial lifeforms showed that it was able to infect, fuse, divide, transmit, and interfere with the normal functions. I never read the report on the actual effects and results, but I heard it was bad. The mines here are being used to extract more of this D-Factor, and that lab was obviously used to some degree for experimentation on the local lifeforms, possibly humans. Could her condition possibly be because of this? Did Dr. Sterling inject his own daughter with D-Factor?_

Rico held Danielle a bit tighter, feeling a deep anger for the government that she served. She had trusted them, had sacrificed time and blood to protect and secure their interests. Yet now, here at the heart of their deepest secret, she discovered just how much of a fool she had been to so blindly trust them.

_And how involved in all of this was Heathcliff? Was my teacher a part of this whole dark conspiracy? He died of mysterious circumstances, and his body was never revealed to the public that wished to mourn a hero of the previous generation. Just how deep does this all go?_

Danielle groaned a bit in her arms, Rico immediately looking down at her. She was immensely relieved that Danielle was starting to come around, but she was still concerned. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Really cold… my chest… it hurts a lot, too…" Danielle managed to whisper in a strained voice. Her pain-filled blue eyes slowly went over to that open door that revealed darkness beyond it. "How… long have I been out?"

"About half an hour, give or take. I really thought I had lost you for a second." Rico bit her lip, not making any mention of the tears of sorrow and worry she had cried as she held that fragile young teen in her arms, trying to warm her up and get her to respond. "What… What happened? What can you tell me about it?"

Danielle slowly looked up at Rico now. There was a fear in her eyes that Rico knew had to be rooted deep in her soul. "I… heard this voice… I can't remember what it said, but I remember… feeling so cold. And I felt like I was being pulled, but not by any part of my body… I was being pulled… from the inside."

Rico considered this, her mind working on overtime to put all the facts that had been gathered together. The runes on the door had made mention of something being sealed. Was whatever had been sealed inside of the ruins before them what was afflicting Danielle? Considering the evidence thus far, it seemed likely.

_And then there was what she had said about what's inside of the ruins._

She noticed that Danielle was weakly gripping her hand now. "Rico… Whatever's in there… You have to stop it."

A shocked expression crossed Rico's face now. "Wait, what? You're in no condition to be moved right now. We can't go into the ruins, plus it's too dangerous even if you do manage to recover a bit within a few hours."

Danielle managed to shake her head somewhat now. Her voice may have been weak, but she was adamant in her stance. "I didn't mean me… I meant you, Rico. Without me slowing you down… I think you'd be able to get through to whatever is in there… and kill it before it comes out."

Rico swallowed hard. She had considered going into the ruins, but it was just too risky. Leaving Danielle here left her at risk to be attacked by either machines from the mines or whatever was waiting inside of the ruins. If she brought Danielle with her, then she would have to work to protect both Danielle and herself. "I can't just leave you here, Danielle. You can't even defend yourself."

"What's more important, Rico…? My safety… or stopping whatever's in there? Besides… if you don't… then the next time this happens to me, I may not wake up."

Rico stared into those blue eyes that now showed maturity far beyond Danielle's age. Rico had a decision to make, and she knew she didn't have much time to make it.

-------------------------------------

Danielle was trying not to shiver from the intense cold she felt right now, staring right at the older hunter. Yes, she was afraid of being left behind, but she knew that whatever had reached out to her from the ruins was even worse. "Please, Rico… If it's my time, then it's my time… Nothing I can do will stop that. But you… have the strength to walk in that place on your own two legs… and get to the bottom of this."

Rico let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders slumping now. "I hate the fact that part of me agrees this is the best course of action right now. But… I can't bring myself to just leave you here on your own."

"I'll admit it… I'm terrified of being here by myself… but I know what has to be done, Rico… If you don't stop whatever's in there… then next time, I may not wake up."

Rico's eyes were glossy with tears now. Gone was that strong and courageous hunter who had bravely fought against all manner of enemies as they delved into the depths of the planet. Rico looked scared and worried, not for herself but for Danielle. "I… I'll go… But I'll come back, okay? I promise you I will."

Danielle forced a weak smile, not bothering to hold back her own tears. "Alright… Be careful, Rico." She managed to lift her arms and wrap them tight around her friend, shutting her eyes as the tears came full force. She felt the older hunter hesitate before holding her back just as tightly. Danielle didn't want to let go, didn't want to see her friend walk through that door and vanish into the darkness, but she knew this had to be done. Slowly, after a few minutes, she pulled away from Rico and looked up at her tearstained face. "I… I'll see you again, okay?"

Rico didn't bother wiping away her tears as she slowly rose to her feet, staring at the entrance to the ruins that was before her. "Yeah, okay… And Danielle?"

Danielle looked up at her now, still too weak to stand on her own feet right now. She sniffled a bit, wiping at her face with her right arm. "Yeah?"

Rico glanced back over her shoulder now, smiling just a bit. "I'm proud of you. I really am." With that sad smile on her face, Rico nodded to her before looking forward, stepping into the darkness.

-------------------------------------

The ruins had been unlike anything Rico had expected to see, but they weren't uninhabited. Nightmarish creatures of darkness hunted her, driving her further and further into the ruins. She had been fighting almost nonstop, getting just a few minutes of reprieve to catch her breath and examine the occasional obsidian monument encased in crystal that had golden runes carved on their surfaces. The entire time she had been worried about Danielle, especially since she had come across extremely dangerous creatures. If any of them exited the ruins and found the young teen, then she wouldn't even stand a chance. But the creatures weren't letting her go back, blocking the entrance to the previous rooms with overwhelming numbers each time she cleared an area.

_It's no wonder that the military suffered so many losses their first time here. Even I'm having trouble with them._

She sighed, running a hand through her red hair as she crouched in front of one of the obsidian monuments. She had made quite a number of discoveries so far as she proceeded deeper and deeper into the ruins. The most shocking of all had been a massive hole in the corner of one of the rooms. A huge shaft of immeasurable depth and height was present, and upon closer examination she determined that the too-smooth stone sides had been made by a type of energy blast. Water had cascaded down into that deep darkness, the shaft quite possibly reaching up to the surface. The best theory she had regarding it right now was that whatever had caused the explosion that wiped out everyone from the face of the planet other than her and Danielle had come from within these ruins.

_And whatever has the power to make an explosion of that magnitude is definitely a dangerous foe._

Rico finished translating what she could from the monument, relieved for the quick breather. As she placed a message capsule at the monument's base, she glanced around to make sure nothing was there before she began to speak. "Those strange characters were found here and there. I think I have enough samples to decipher the meaning of the monument. 'Light makes darkness, a pair exists, but it doesn't always exist. Reincarnation goes forever. The rule is here. It should be sealed. MUUT DITTS POUMN.' …Does it make sense? I wish I had enough time to study these unknown characters."

_But I don't have much time to sit and study, _Rico thought as she stood up straight and stretched a bit. _These things are everywhere, and the longer I wait, the higher the chance of the creatures finding Danielle._

The alien cries of the monsters reached her ears, Rico's head snapping sideways as her relaxed muscles tensed up. It seemed they were already here. She took up her Red Saber as her hunters appeared in the room. It was a group of Dimenians, La Dimenians, and So Dimenians. They resembled Evil Sharks somewhat, but they had considerable differences. The Dimenians had dark-brown flesh, the Photon blades on their arms and the lines on their torso teal in color. The somewhat smaller La Dimenians had black flesh and pink blades and lines, while the larger and more powerful So Dimenians were dark green with yellow blades and lines.

Rico stepped back as the La Dimenians rushed in, all going to attack her at once with their Photon blades. She sidestepped a strike that nearly hit her shoulder, reversing the Red Saber and sending it backwards into another of the Dark creatures that was trying to hit her from behind. Ripping it out sideways, she kicked at the one in front of her to knock it back while gripping her left hand into a fist. "Gifoie!" she shouted, flames wrapping around her before spreading out in a circle. The cries of the monsters made her wince as they fell and dissolved into black dust, the Dimenians and So Dimenians now reaching her. Narrowing her eyes, she took out her Red Sword now and tensed up.

_Come on, line up just right…_

When they began to clump together somewhat, she brought the heavy blade around in a horizontal strike that cleaved through the weaker of the creatures and left behind the three So Dimenians. One of them managed to get in close and attack her, but Rico brought her shield unit around to block the strike in the nick of time. She winced, the monster pushing its blade against her shield while the other two closed in, determined to take her out.

"Grr…" She shoved forward with all her strength to throw the So Dimenian off balance, quickly swapping weapons for her Red Mechguns. She pulled the trigger, letting the yellow Photon bullets slam into the two approaching monsters. As soon as they had fallen, she brought up her leg to kick the final So Dimenian back a few feet, giving herself room to fire right at its head. She watched as it fell to the ground and dissolve just like every other creature she had faced so far in these ruins, Rico trying to keep her breathing even as she kept a sharp eye out for any more of the monsters.

Several seconds passed by in silence before Rico finally lowered her weapons. "All clear," she murmured to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to relax completely. Letting her guard down right now would be a fatal mistake.

The hunter turned away now, walking towards the next door once more. This was a place that she couldn't rest in, couldn't stop until she got to the bottom of all this and discovered the source of the living nightmare on Ragol.

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Deep within the dark heart of the ruins, something ancient stirred once more. It sensed the two humans it had chosen. One was continuing in deeper while the other hid just outside of the ruins in the section where the humans had stationed their equipment. It had come close to taking the child, but the woman had managed to break its hold. It could easily take the child now, but it was interested. Far too long had it been sealed. It would toy with them, test them… And it knew exactly how.

The time quickly drew near. After a thousand years of being trapped in its infernal prison, it was ready to be free. And it was very, _very_ hungry. The petty imperfect humans had been a mere appetizer. The true feast had yet to begin.


	13. Revolution to the Origin

Chapter 13: Revolution to the Origin

Danielle had sat there for what felt like an hour, idly turning the Autogun over and over in her hand. She felt incredibly bored but was thankful that nothing had attacked her. She had recovered quite a bit now, able to move around without any problem. Despite all this, she also had a deep, unsettling feeling that something bad was going to happen. Just staring at that dark entrance made a shiver run up her spine and her blood run cold.

A beeping sound from her arm unit made her yelp in surprise, dropping her Autogun as she looked down quickly at it. There was a message in her unit's mailbox, much to her surprise. Pressing the screen, she pulled up the electronic inbox and read it.

"Danielle, it's Rico. The ruins have been oddly clear so far, so it's safe for you to come. I'll backtrack to meet you as close to the entrance as I can. Don't go too far in, and watch out if something does come at you. I'll see you soon."

Danielle just stared at the screen now, confused somewhat. Rico wanted her to go into the ruins now? She supposed that she had recovered enough to be able to hold her own when traveling with Rico, but still. It just seemed a bit suspicious that the ruins were clear of any possible threat, especially considering that powerful force that had attacked her when the door was first beginning to open.

_Well, she knows what she's doing, so I just have to trust her._

Picking up her Autogun now, she took careful steps towards the entrance. Every part of her body screamed at her to not enter the ruins, that something evil was deep inside. But there was something that called to her, that beckoned her to enter.

Danielle blinked rapidly, dazed and uncertain now. She stood right before the entrance now, and a strange white mist had begun to pour forth from the door, reaching up to her ankles. Danielle stared down at it in confusion, realizing that she felt freezing cold. The temperature in the chamber had dropped considerably, each breath forming small white clouds. Stumbling back a step, a horrible smell washed over her from the darkness. It was old and musky, yet it smelled of rot and decay. Something slithered beyond that doorway, slowly pulling itself forward. She couldn't see what was in there, but she could feel it. It was evil, corruption, and malice. It was all of her childhood nightmares rolled into physical form. Worst of all, it was her in her anger towards her father, her jealousy of the other kids who got to have fun with their parents, her sorrow while she was constantly alone.

She raised the Autogun to aim into the darkness without even thinking, unleashing a hail of blue Photon bullets upon the unseen and ancient creature within. The expression on her face was one of pure anger: anger at herself, at the darkness, at her uncaring father and her mother who abandoned her, never contacting her for months…

She didn't know how long she had been firing before she finally stopped, panting and shivering from anger and the cold. Nothing moved from within the darkness, the air silent and oppressive. Her unwavering gaze just stared silently at that opening, Danielle waiting for about a minute before she finally lowered the handgun. Whatever had been coming was dead.

_It was something that we released. We were foolish and power-hungry and help us the pain the pain let us die let us—_

Danielle had dropped the Autogun, doubling over and clutching at her head. The voices of thousands seemed to speak at once in her mind, screaming and crying, begging for freedom and death. There were voices she recognized and those she didn't, their cries growing louder and louder as the white mist built up around her. Then, all at once, the voices cut off. Danielle blinked rapidly in confusion, slowly lowering her hands as she looked around the chilled room. All was silent, but that rotten stench had gotten much stronger.

Seeing that she had dropped her Autogun, Danielle bent over to pick it up off the ground. That was when something shot forth from the darkness. Tendrils of pulsating black alien flesh latched onto her body, everywhere they touched instantly becoming numb. Gasping in fear, Danielle did her best to pull away, but even more shot out from the darkness and burrowed into her body, the flesh rippling and spreading over her arms and legs as if it wanted to devour her.

Danielle screamed out in terror, crying for help as she was being pulled further and further into the darkness. But no one was coming. Rico wasn't here to save her. She tried to reach out to grab onto the edge of the door, but the tendrils jerked her backwards, screaming and struggling, into the waiting darkness.

------------------------------

"I'm now inside the ancient spaceship. Well, it's not just a spaceship. It's a… 'casket.' Something or somebody was sealed in this spaceship to remain buried here. What was _it_? Why was something buried in such a manner? Anyway, I know a monster is sleeping in this cave. We've opened the forbidden door."

Rico sat behind the cover of one of the obsidian monuments, weary from the seemingly endless fighting. The discoveries within the engineering section made dread gnaw at her heart. These weren't ruins, but an ancient spaceship that was still operating. What was even worse was the fact that something was trapped within the ship and had probably been awakened by the military entering it.

_They desired the D-Factor for more power, and they blundered upon something that was much more than what they could handle. Danielle was right. There is a demon inside of here._

"That's what all the robots in the mines were for. They were used to keep these monsters from escaping to the surface," Rico murmured quietly, running a hand through her bangs. Her glasses were held in her other hand, sweat dripping down her face. How much longer could she keep this up? Which fight would be her last? She was running dangerously low on supplies right now, so she had to use them sparingly.

Rico sighed tiredly, slipping on her glasses once more as she rose to her feet. The monsters here were coordinated and fought tenaciously against her. The biggest threat, the Chaos Bringers, were the main reason why she was so fatigued right now. The centaur-like monsters charged with incredible speed and attacked with a long, strange blade that also served as a rifle when it drained her energy to use for its energy blast.

She took up her Red Saber, walking through another door and through more of the machine-filled corridors. The rooms contained mostly Dimenians, Claws, Dark Gunners, and Delsabers. Even as she cut down a trio of the floating silver-and-red Claws, she saw three of the Gunners drop down along with two Delsabers that teleported in. The Gunners were almost like four-legged spiders with dark grayish blue skin. Two had green diamond-shaped crystal while the third had a red crystal. This Death Gunner was the leader, and as the crystal hovered just a few inches above its body, red energy charged up around it.

Rico's eyes flickered to the two Delsabers that were waiting for the chance to strike while she swapped her weapon out for her Red Handgun. The Gunners were set up in a triangle around her, the two Dark Gunners to her sides while the Death Gunner was straight ahead of her. As soon as the Gunners fired their thing but piercing beams of energy, Rico dove diagonally out of the way, snapping up the Red Handgun and firing several shots at the Death Gunner. It dissolved into black dust and purple blood as the two Dark Gunners hit each other with their own attacks and fell at the same time as their leader.

Cringing as she landed hard on the ground, she noticed the two Delsabers leaping into the air, coming right at her. Their right arms were pink Photon blades while their left consisted of a clawed shield that stored life energy it stole when striking its victim. Their bodies were humanoid in shape but with an eyeless head and black-and-yellow flesh. Rico quickly took her Red Saber in hand once more, eyes flickering sideways to the closer of the Delsabers as it came down through the air. She rolled somewhat and came up on one knee, holding up the Red Saber and letting the Delsaber fall on her blade. Rico felt a jolt strike her arm before the sound of the Dark creature's body dissolving reached her ears. As she rose up, she spun and blocked a strike from the remaining Delsaber, which had landed just a few inches behind her. Wincing, she struggled to hold back the large Photon blade, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses.

The Delsaber was definitely stronger than an average human, Rico's arms shaking from the sheer force exerted to hold back the blade. Knowing that she would lose this stalemate if she waited too long, she braced herself before bringing up her right leg to kick the creature hard in the gut. It stumbled back, lowering its guard just long enough for Rico to plunge the glowing red tip of the Red Saber into the beast's neck. It instantly dissolved, Rico panting as she noticed the next door unlocking. She passed a crystalline monument to check what was on the other side, only to be filled with disappointment in the corridor when she saw that the next room held three separate doors.

"This entire place is just one huge labyrinth…" she murmured, turning away and returning to the previous room. She had been in the ruins for well over an hour, backtracking, getting lost, translating the runes on the monuments… Even for a seasoned hunter like herself, proud of the fact that she was one of the best of the best, she was on the verge of breaking. Being within this dark, lonely place was taking its toll on her.

She knelt down and placed another message capsule by the door, clearing her throat and trying to keep her voice steady. "I… I want to run away! But I have no place to return to…" Hesitating, she thought of Danielle sitting alone near the entrance, wondering if her only friend would ever return again. "Perhaps no one will ever find this message and listen to it. Ever…" She made no effort to hide the sorrowful note in her voice as she closed her eyes. "_Pioneer 2_ will not come down when they discover this planet is dangerous. Will somebody from _Pioneer 2 _still come save us? Who knows? Regardless, I leave this message here. This is evidence of my existence."

Rising to her feet with the tip of her Red Saber pointing towards the ground, she fought back the tears that threatened to fall as sorrow gnawed at her heart. And yet instead of turning back and returning to Danielle, she was continuing to delve deeper into this cursed spaceship. These monsters drove her in deeper and deeper, herding her somewhere.

"And if I turn back now, I'll be overwhelmed by these things. I just don't have enough supplies and stamina to fight my way back through them." She sighed, rubbing her bloodshot eyes before she glanced at the three doors ahead of her and picked the center one. Alien machinery whirred and powered the ancient spaceship all around her, the sound starting to give her a headache after hearing it for so long. She could make out another sound like hooves clanging off of metal just above the hum, Rico tensing up immediately. She looked to the right out of the corner of her eye, seeing a Chaos Bringer pawing at the ground as it prepared to charge, leveling its massive blade.

_It never fails that one of these shows up when they're not wanted._

Swapping her weapon in one swift move, she took out her Red Partisan and waiting for it to charge before stepping to the left and bringing the red Photon blade horizontal with its midsection. She felt a powerful jolt as it rushed right into the blade, its tiger-like growl heard before it dissolved.

She rested the bottom of the Red Partisan on the ground and leaned against it slightly, wearily scanning the room. It was odd that there was only one enemy here, but she had encountered such a situation a few times before. Rico had almost finished examining the room when something on the ground caught her eyes. She froze, trying to figure out what it was from where she stood. It was near one of the two doors in the room, and as she strode forward, she realized that it was a badly damaged arm unit, the screen cracked straight down the middle. "Wait… the military never got past the first level of the ship, so how did one of these—" Eyes widening, her heart pounded in her chest as she knelt down to pick it up with a trembling hand. Pressing a few buttons, the screen flickered to life, somehow managing to still work despite the heavy damage. As she checked the inventory, her heart finally sank. It contained a Brand with a Flame Barrier as the unit's shield and a few 'mates and 'fluids.

"Danielle… This is Danielle's! But why is it here? I told her not to come after me!" Frantically looking around, she searched for any sign of the young teen, but to no avail. Where was she? Was she hurt?

_Calm down! Panicking won't help her!_

Rico stopped now, the rational part of her speaking clearly in her mind. If she freaked out, she would never find Danielle. Taking a deep breath, she examined the unit more closely, discovering that the bottom had been pulled apart with incredible force.

"Something must have chased her down here, something that she couldn't fight against on her own. But if she got ahead of me, why were there no signs of fighting?" She shut her eyes, trying to picture every situation in her mind. "Unless she tried to run through and avoid fighting… that's one possibility. Maybe in one of the struggles, one of those things caught hold of her arm unit and pulled it off. Either that, or something dragged her in her and ripped this off. But that's not like the monsters I've seen. They're mindless creatures concerned only with killing."

Withdrawing the few items she could before the ruined unit finally died, she rose to her feet while her emotions swirled within her. Anger, sorrow, worry, and guilt filled every fiber of her being as she thought of Danielle's unknown fate. IF something had happened to her friend, she would never forgive herself for leaving Danielle behind.

Calming down and controlling herself as best as she could, Rico pushed down her emotions and focused once more on the task at hand. Now there really was no turning back. She had to find Danielle before it was too late.

_And I'll tear through every single one of those things that stand in my way._

Fatigue no longer bothered her now as she gripped the Red Partisan tight enough that her knuckles grew white, her dark red eyes carrying looks of both cold anger and determination. Without hesitating and driven by the need to protect Danielle, she rushed through the door before her, ready to face anything tat tried to stop her.

_Just hold on, Danielle… I'm coming!_


	14. Nearest Place to the Heaven

Chapter 14: Nearest Place to the Heaven

Disoriented and in pain, Danielle awoke feeling freezing cold and sore. She was lying with the right side of her face pressed against some oddly-textured floor, numb with throbbing pains throughout her body. For a second, she couldn't figure out where she was. Pulsating masses covered the wall, strange webbing covering some of them while others emitted clouds of unknown purple gas. Wincing, Danielle managed to lift her head from the ground somewhat before getting both of her arms under her to push herself up to one knee.

"What… happened?" she groaned, holding her head. Blood trickled from her nose, her shirt ripped in several places. The sleeves were pretty much shredded, long, thin red lines set into fours running along the flesh. She could feel a very sharp pain from the back of her right shoulder down to the left of her lower back. Her pants were pretty torn up, dried up blood on a good portion of the tears.

_Something grabbed me, pulled down here… It was complete and total darkness, a mass of flesh and claws… I fought back, and it tore at me like some savage beast… Did I get knocked out? Or did I just lose consciousness from the pain?_

She sat back on her feet slightly, trying to get her bearings straight. The room was nothing more than a corridor that ended in two locked doors, one of them with a strange glowing lamp beside it. She had to be inside of the ruins, but just how far? And how long was she out? "I have no idea how I'll even get out of here…" Danielle murmured to herself, wincing as she carefully stumbled to her feet. She was looking around for a weapon now, knowing that she at least needed some way to protect herself. There was only one problem, though. The storage unit was missing.

"Well, this just went from bad to worse," she commented quietly, her own voice sounded a bit distant and dazed. "Maybe I can find Rico though… unless I'm really far behind her."

_In shock… am I in shock? I… don't feel anything… just a bit empty. I don't even feel afraid right now._

Limping somewhat and favoring her less-injured right leg, she made her way over to the door with the lamp, cautiously reaching out a hand to touch it. Immediately it began to glow with green light, and the door slid open to reveal a room that was oddly empty with thick, purple liquid on parts of the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw a message capsule placed near a strange monument encased in crystal. Excited, she ran over and played the message that she knew had been left by Rico.

"Dark Falz! That's the name. The god of destruction that revives in the millennial cycle. Perhaps this entity encountered a civilization thousands of years ago. They could not defeat it, but managed to seal it in this gigantic spaceship. They abandoned it somewhere far from their planet. It was this place, Ragol. We've come to a terrible place at the worst possible time…"

Danielle's heart raced now. So Rico _was _here! But where? Then the seriousness of the message slammed into her, wiping away all excitement about finding one of Rico's message capsules. "A god of destruction…?" she whispered, eyes wide. What were the chances of their people arriving at Ragol right when this Dark Falz awakened after a thousand years? "Unless it didn't all happen by chance…" Danielle murmured, a troubling thought entering her mind. What if this god had known that they were searching for a planet and led them here? What if they didn't choose Ragol, but Dark Falz chose them?

Never had Danielle felt more afraid in her life. Here she was on some mysterious ancient spaceship buried deep beneath the ground, alone and unarmed with an evil god trapped somewhere within. Swallowing hard and trying her best to be brave, she limped through the door before her, hoping against hope that Rico was somewhere close by and that she didn't have to be alone in this dark place for very long.

------------------------------

Rico's eyes scanned the room she stood in as she let out a soft sigh. Nothing… No trace at all of Danielle. Other than the arm unit she had found in the engineering section of the spaceship, she hadn't found any signs of Danielle.

_Maybe some soldier with the same equipment wandered this far, but it just doesn't seem likely at all. If Danielle was here, I should have found more evidence by now… Unless…_

She pushed the thought out of her head as she tended to her injuries, sitting with her back against a monument. A Delsaber's clawed arm had cut her somewhat deeply, but not enough to damage any tendons or muscles. As she glanced at her red ring on her left wrist, she thought about her father for the first time since entering this ruined spaceship. He was the Principal of _Pioneer 2_, and he was the only family she had left. She had lost her mother at an early age, leaving her father to raise her and teach her the very basics of fighting before the hero Heathcliff Flowen took over as her teacher. Pausing now, Rico knew exactly what her next recorded message would be about.

She gently set down the capsule, getting her thoughts together before she slowly began to speak. "I want to see my father," she began, her hand resting on that red ring. "He's been very busy, but he gave me this red ring, a long time ago… It serves as a bond between us, even though we are far apart." She closed her eyes, imagining her stern but loving father. The last time she had seen him, they had argued before _Pioneer 1 _had left Coral. Rico had been eight years younger on the day _Pioneer 1 _departed for Ragol. She had made her decision a year or so beforehand against the wishes of her father. Rico had been stubborn, desiring to be one of the first to explore the new world that would become their home while following in the footsteps of her hero and mentor, Heathcliff Flowen. "I… I wish I were with him," she murmured, a yearning sadness in her heart. "I wonder what he's doing right now."

As she shut off the recorder, she looked up towards the dark ceiling overhead and pictured _Pioneer 2 _floating in silent orbit around Ragol. If this creature wasn't stopped, all would be lost.

_The dark god of destruction, a consciousness without a body that's been sealed for a thousand years. And it's looking for the best animal to gain its temporal host body. But what if it gains that perfect body? What will happen then?_

"It will break free of its prison… and it will destroy _Pioneer 2_," she murmured, a tear rolling down the side of her face. She knew she had to be close to its resting place by now. If she could just defeat it, then she would be able to stop it from getting free and destroying everything.

_Kill a god… Maybe it's impossible, but I have to try… That's all that I can do now._

Rising to her feet, she began to cross the narrow walkway in the room while trying not to look at the pits on either side that led into a deep abyss. The other door in the room had led to nothing more than a dead end, so now she had to backtrack and find another path. But before she could activate the door's proximity sensor, it opened on its own, Rico immediately drawing her Red Handgun and aiming it forward. There stood a frightened and startled Danielle Sterling, much to Rico's amazement. She hesitated, stunned and caught off guard as she saw Danielle's pale face that bore several cuts and scratches. "D-Danielle?"

Danielle's shoulders sagged with relief as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Rico. "I… I stayed behind… but something attacked from the darkness… and dragged me down here. Rico, what's here… it's worse than we could ever imagine."

Rico lowered her Red Handgun, gently wrapping her left arm around the teen, feeling her body quivering in fear. "I know Danielle… I know. That's why we have to stop it." Danielle's blue eyes met Rico's, the fear mixed with relief and anxiety. "If we don't, it will get free and attack everyone on _Pioneer 2_… maybe everyone in the universe."

"So… it's up to us to stop it then? We have to kill Dark Falz on our own?" she questioned quietly. Despite the fact that she looked so scared, she wanted to help Rico fight it? Rico smiled gently down at her, admiring this young girl. For being so young in age, she showed bravery beyond belief.

"Yeah, we have to stop it… together." Rico continued to embrace Danielle with one arm as she slowly began to relax, her trembling lessening. Her smile fell away as she heard a sound from one of the nearby pits, one that made Rico glance over at it while tightening her grip on her weapon. It was a soft slithering and a wet, sucking sound. Rico held Danielle closer, whispering for her to not make a move as she watched that pit.

A deformed, three-clawed hand reached out from the pit, the black and dark purple flesh rippling and moving. Something was pulling itself out, another hand coming up and gripping the edge, the arms muscular with human shapes shifting and moving within the flesh. As it pulled its body out completely, Rico saw the most nightmarish beast of all in the entire ruins. Its body was constantly decaying, its entire body composed of rippling flesh that bulged forward in human shapes, as if its body _was _made of human beings to some extent. Human hands and faces reached forward with languished movements before being pulled back into the body. The flesh melted and dripped to the ground, leaving behind a sickening stench that nearly overpowered Rico. Its eyeless, wolfish head turned towards them, its sideways jaws opening to show the multiple lines of razor sharp teeth within, drool dripping to the ground. Its body had four short limbs and stood low to the ground, almost like a tortoise of sorts. Its tail was two long, whip-like appendages with stingers on the end that dripped purple liquid. It took up the entire walkway between the two pits with its massive bulk, the liquid dripping from its body to the ground.

_An imperfect body… It's too weak and unstable. But how did it even get a body?_

"Danielle, back away very slowly," she whispered, letting go of the teen as the monster that was Dark Falz continued to just stand there silently. The human-like forms that seemed to try and break free from the body unnerved Rico the most, yet at the same time they suggested an answer to her question. Everyone had vanished in that explosion, the one she didn't doubt Dark Falz had created.

_They all vanished and became its new body. It needed so many because it was falling apart. One person wouldn't have lasted long enough._

Turning her back to Danielle and raising the Handgun, she aimed at its distorted face, feeling anger rising within her. "All of them… you took all of them!" She pulled the trigger rapidly, firing as many shots as she could. Not even fazed, it let out an otherworldly roar, mouth opening and tendrils of flesh shooting out. Rico jumped to the side, relieved to see Danielle do the same. "Didn't take any damage at all from those shots," she murmured. "Gotta find another way to stop it."

"Uh, wait! What about the pit?" Danielle suggested, her voice sounding strained. It was obvious she was also unsettled by Dark Falz's appearance. "If we can get it off balance, maybe knock it down there…"

Rico glanced back, nodding her approval of the plan. When she saw how pale Danielle's face was and just how scared she look, Rico held out the Red Handgun to her. "I'll handle that. Take this and use it to defend yourself… I won't let it get you."

Danielle stared at the weapon, seeing the two letters engraved on its hilt before she took Rico's personal weapon in her hand, nodding back. Rico drew her Red Sword, taking up the heavy blade as she watched the demonic beast carefully. As soon as it went to open its mouth, she bent at her knees and charged forward, the tendrils of flesh just barely missing her face as she swung the Red Sword at its front right claw. The Photon blade seared easily through the grotesque flesh and bone. Its strange roar filled the air as the claw was dismembered and the beast fell forward on a stump that oozed purple blood.

_It's not all that strong right now! It won't take much to bring this thing down!_

Before she could strike, cold and slick hands grabbed her under her arms and pulled her into the air. Rico cried out in both surprise and disgust as she saw the bodies of former _Pioneer 1 _citizens holding onto her, trying to pull her up into that living, consuming mass of dark flesh. More terrified than she had ever been before, Rico screamed out for help, the hands holding her arms still so she couldn't raise her sword.

Handgun bullets seared into the flesh of the beast, faces and hands melting away. Rico dropped to the ground with a thud, gagging from the horrible stench as she stumbled to her feet, managing to pull herself together enough to cut through the back right leg. She ran out from under it just before it collapsed, sliding off the side a bit before it managed to grab onto the ledge with its left claws. It was between her and Danielle, blocking the teen from sight.

It was still roaring in pain, trying to attack something in front of it, snapping its jaws. She could hear Danielle shouting for her to hurry, Rico wrapping her hands tighter around the hilt before lifting the weapon up. It wasn't able to defend itself from her as she sliced through the back left leg, most of creature's massive body hanging off the side of the walkway now. It was pulling itself up enough to get its head within range, hissing and snapping its jaws at her. She stood out of range, her red eyes narrowed in a cold, dangerous glare.

"If you think you can get away with all that you've done, you're wrong. I'll kill you myself if I have to." The creature stopped now as if realizing its defeat, not bothering attacking her as she stepped forward, Red Sword raised once more. Letting out a cry, she brought the weapon down to slice through its final claw, the abomination letting out a roar of pain as it plummeted down into the darkness.

Rico panted heavily, lowering the Red Sword now as she stared into the dark abyss, sweat trickling down her face as her hands kept their tight grip on the weapon just in case. She jumped a bit as she noticed motion to her side, seeing Danielle there. Rico forced herself to relax a bit, calming her nerves as she saw the fear in her young friend's eyes. "Is it dead?" she asked, peering cautiously over the ledge.

"Probably not, but we need to find it and kill it before it manages to get the perfect body." She stored the Red Saber in her arm unit, taking the Red Handgun that Danielle handed to her. "Chances are it probably isn't happy about the fact we both fought against it. It seemed too easy, though… as if it wasn't fighting at its full power."

Danielle gazed up at Rico now, frowning. "But… if it wasn't here fighting at full power to kill us, then what _was _it doing?"

Rico stopped in mid-step as she approached the other door in the room, contemplating the question. "In my opinion… I think it was testing us. We're the only two that survived the explosion… maybe we're the ones it wants for its new body." She was about to look at Danielle when the stench of the abomination wash over them suddenly. Rico went to turn, but numbing tendrils wrapped around her wrists and waist, flinging her sideways to the ground, the Red Handgun clattering to the ground a few feet in front of her. She gasped in surprise, unable to move her hands as she looked up to see tendrils rising from the darkness. Danielle was trying to run for her when the tendrils shot forward lightning-quick, wrapping around her neck, arms, and legs. She had a panicked look on her face as that eyeless head rose up from the black depths behind her.

Rico screamed her name, watching the jaws open sideways slowly, the tendrils vanishing into the darkness of its mouth. Unable to grab her Red Handgun to try and fire at the creature, Rico could only look into Danielle's terrified eyes before the tendrils pulled back and the jaws encompassed her, snapping shut. The beast let out a dark, guttural chuckle before it slid back into the dark abyss, leaving Rico lying there crying out for her friend.


	15. Pray for IDOLA the Distorted

Chapter 15: Pray for "IDOLA" the Distorted

"The door is already open. We opened it. This may be the beginning of the end of the universe. We have to do something… We must do it. We must defeat it now! Defeat it before that dark 'thing' revives with the perfect body."

Rico stood within what seemed to be a control room of some sort deep within the heart of the spaceship. Before her stood an open door, an ancient and large teleporter beyond it, rings of red light showing that it was activated.

"_Come to me… I want… to evolve…"_

The dark voice echoed in her mind sinisterly, a voice filled with longing and endless hunger. She knew it was the voice of Dark Falz. It waited for her, Danielle trapped in the demon's grasp.

"_Come… join with me… give your body to me… you are mine…"_

Rico had the Red Saber in hand, determination in her red eyes as she stepped into the red light of the teleporter. She was immediately transporter into a small cave that opened up into a large, peaceful-looking meadow. Rico squinted her eyes as they tried to adjust to the sudden brightness after being used to the dark corridors of the spaceship. Blue skies were above, clouds drifting lazily across the sky while the sun shined brightly on the grassy field. There were a few small stone monuments about two inches high with strange text engraved on them a bit to her left, Rico approaching those first. There were a total of six, three on each side of a small dirt rut. Examining the text, she realized the writing was considerably different from that she had seen on the monuments throughout the ship. Rico raised her gaze to the object that dominated the area, a large stone monument atop a platform with a waist-high pedestal directly in front of the monument.

Rico ascended the few steps up the platform, examining the monument more closely. The symbols were mostly eroded and unreadable, but a few of the engravings seemed to depict some strange type of monster. The ancient stone was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

_Here… this is where it resides._

She slowly raised her hand to touch the monument, its surface cold despite the sun that was shining directly down on it. It was odd that it felt so cold, and yet it also felt like something else… Like it was alive.

_Rico, help me!!!_

Rico was taken aback, stumbling back a step from the monument. A ripple ran out across the grass, the livid green blades turning brittle and brown, leaving a circular plain of dead grass surrounded by a pit of endless darkness. The skies above were black as pitch, no stars or moon in the sky. Beyond the circular pit stretched vast, dead plains littered with the ruins of _Pioneer 1 _mecha.

She stood there on that dead plain, eyes flickering about. "Falz! Show yourself!"

"_Foolish… you think you can do… what the ancients failed to…? A mere mortal… cannot kill me…"_

"We'll see about that! Even you aren't immortal!" she shouted back, determination filling her.

"_You know nothing… of the matters of the eternal universe… The source of my power… is beyond mortal comprehension… You can try to kill me… but the darkness will be reborn endlessly."_

Something began to crawl out of the abyss, that rippling flesh instantly familiar to Rico as she took a step back. It was the same demon from before, but its body had deteriorated even further. It had no body behind its midsection, just the trailing bone of its spine covered in that sickening, rotting black and purple flesh. Most of the flesh of its stomach was gone, revealing its monstrous rib cage. It lacked any internal organs, and Rico could see through the ribs at a strange humanoid shape. Pulling itself forward on its two claws, Rico felt her stomach squirm as she realized that it _was _a human. It was Danielle.

Rico brandished the Red Saber as Dark Falz drew closer. Its movements were still a bit slow, but the rate of decay of its body had also decreased. It slowly raised one of its claws to the sky, curling it into a fist before slamming it down at Rico. She managed to swiftly jump out of the way of the blow while striking out at the wrist. Purple blood oozed from the wound, but it quickly backhanded Rico away. She rolled along the ground, managing to not lose her weapon as she got to one knee. Already the demon was crawling towards her, its jaws open in a drooling snarl.

_It's no longer falling apart, so its skin is tougher… It's using Danielle to keep its body stabilized. If I could just free her…_

She rose all the way to her feet, diving forward before the incoming fist managed to hit her. Falz turned its head towards her, opening its mouth to send fleshy tendrils shooting at Rico. In one swift move she sidestepped, bringing the weapon around, its blade slicing neatly through the tendrils. While it was retracting the tendrils into its mouth, Rico rushed forward to get under its torso, swinging the Red Saber upwards to strike the ribcage, bone melting beneath the Photon blade. Falz's roar of pain rose into the air as it grabbed Rico, flinging her at the ground. Pain burst through her body as she slammed hard into the ground, the air rushing from her lungs. Squinting, she rolled to her feet despite the pain just in time to avoid being struck by more of the fleshy tendrils from its mouth.

She sprinted forward, dodging multiple strikes as she tried to close in on it once more. As it attempted to grab her, she slid under its fist and brought the Red Saber up at its ribs. She cut through one of them, managing to get a better view of the trapped Danielle. She was sunk partially into the flesh, parts of her own skin black and mutated, as if Falz's flesh was trying to consume her. She hung there with arms stretched out on either side, her head hanging down with her eyes closed.

Rico felt anger rise up inside of her now as she rose to her feet and dodged Falz's grasping hand. Taking out her Red Sword for more damage, she rushed back under its body and struck with strength that was fueled by anger. One slash cleaved through the remaining ribs on the right side, Falz's roar making her wince. She tightened her grip, letting out a cry of her own before bringing the Red Sword around in a second strike to rip through the last of the ribs.

Dark Falz continued to roar in agony, clutching at its chest as it stumbled sideways, losing its balance and crashing to the ground. Rico just stood there and watched it as it growled softly, limbs twitching before finally falling still. She frowned, cautiously approaching while checking to make sure the thing was dead. Once she was satisfied that it wasn't moving at all, she rushed forward to check on her young friend, swapping the heavy blade for the lighter Red Daggers.

"Danielle, can you hear me?" she questioned as she placed two of her fingers against the side of Danielle's neck. There was a pulse, but it was weak and erratic. She had no other choice but to cut Danielle free, which would be risky seeing as how her body was buried in Dark Falz's flesh. Gripping the daggers tight, she carefully went to work, trying not to injure her friend in the process. She had been working for about a minute when she heard a loud cracking noise that made her stop and look over her shoulder. Dark Falz's arms were moving once more, growing longer and more muscular. Adrenaline shot through her as she looked forward to hurry and finish cutting Danielle free, only to be face to face with her. Danielle's eyes were crimson, her teeth bared in a devilish grin. She was pulled away from the body now, connected by dark tendrils that entered into her body and wrapped around parts of it.

_Oh my… What did it do to her!?_

The demon pushed itself up even as Rico backed away quickly, the dark flesh at its waist rippling and spreading to form squat, reverse-jointed legs. The muscles flexed in them as it roared, the very ground shaking beneath its feet.

Rico stumbled as the ground shook, the colossal beast now turning its head towards her even as two crimson eyes formed, fire burning within them as it moved its head in synchronization with Danielle's. It charged forward on all fours, claws gouging up the stone as it swiped at her with newly acquired speed. Quickly changing to her Red Saber for more power while diving out of the way of the strike, Rico landed in a crouch and brought the blade up and around to slash at the wrist, her eyes widening as the gash that was formed healed instantly. Falz swung at her again, its fist brushing against Rico's side as she tried to dodge. Grunting in pain, she struggled to think of a plan to defeat the dark god.

_If I get her free, Falz won't have a host. But how do I get in close enough to swipe at those tendrils?_

Dark Falz was growling, down on all fours once more as it prepared to pounce like a wolf. Rico was about to try and attack its legs when she felt something snatch at her legs and grab on to them with an iron grip. She glanced down, seeing human-like shapes rising from the ground as if the stone was nothing more than water. She struggled to pull her legs free, but more of the shapes rose up to grab her wrists, allowing Rico to get a better glimpse at their faces. They were people she knew, her fellow hunters who had fought to defend the people of _Pioneer 1 _but were taken in that explosion in the blink of an eye.

Sick to her stomach, she looked up at Dark Falz as it walked towards her on two legs, mimicking the motions of its captured host. It towered over her, crouching somewhat so that Danielle's possessed body in its chest was face-to-face once more with Rico.

"_Foolish… I will devour you… make you a part of me… and then I will free my eternal master…"_

Rico glared back defiantly at the evil god, still struggling. In those sunken and suffering eyes of her friends she had seen a desire to be free from their pain, their agony. They wanted death. "No, you're wrong. I may be a fool, but I won't lose to you!"

"_We shall see about that, mortal…"_

Danielle let out an inhuman hiss and opened her mouth, the demon repeating the action. As rancid breath washed over her, Rico tightened her grip on the Red Saber, a plan forming in her mind. She knew that her next action would determine if she slew the demon or if she was consumed by it. It was lowering its head, the jaws surrounding her before beginning to close, the light growing dimmer and dimmer. As soon as the slick hands released her, she thrust the Red Saber up into the roof of its mouth, the tip tearing into its skull. The roar of pain it released deafened her before Falz flung her out of its mouth. She rolled somewhat, managing to keep her grip on her weapon as she looked up. The demon was clutching its skull with its claws, falling to its knees as Danielle's body slumped forward.

_Now!_

Strength rushing through her, Rico charged forward and swung up at the tendrils, purple blood splashing her as they were severed in one strike. Danielle, now freed, feel to the ground as Falz's roars rose to a feverish pitch. Rico dropped to her knees beside Danielle, seeing the exposed tendrils that remained in her body withering before withdrawing into the teen. Her skin was pale and her breathing shallow as Rico took her friend up in her arms, looking at Falz. Its dark flesh was melting away, the demon trying to reach out its claw for them. With one final roar it froze in place, the flesh melting away and revealing its massive skeleton fixed in its death pose.

Rico let out a breath of relief, looking down at Danielle now as the teen began to stir. The visible veins in her arms were now black in color, her eyes bloodshot. Rico smiled gently at her and held her close now, feeling just how cold the teen's body was. "I'm here, Danielle. You're safe."

Her eyes now open all the way, it was obvious just how much of a daze Danielle was in. Where the tendrils had pierced her flesh were sickening wounds that seemed to move of their own accord, as if they were alive and trying to consume her. Slowly becoming more aware of her surroundings, Danielle began to blink slowly. "R-Rico…?"

She smiled even more, unable to hold back the tears that came to her eyes. "Yeah, it's me. It's finally over." Holding her even closer, relief began to flood through Rico. She had done it. She had defeated Dark Falz and released Danielle from its grasp.

"_Hahaha… You really think… you have won? Ignorant… mortals!"_

Rico's head snapped up as she felt Danielle's body tensing. That voice came from all around them, its source unidentifiable even though she knew without a doubt it was Dark Falz. But where was it? Frowning, she rose to her feet and helped Danielle to stand, a cold dead wind brushing by them. "You just don't know when to stay dead!"

That evil laughter sounded again, Rico scowling as she tried to find its source. She held Danielle close with her left hand, her right holding up the Red Saber in front of her.

"_I thought to take the one who carried my blood, but she will instead become my blade… Already she changes, evolving… You though… Your body is perfect for my needs… a strong female, capable of bringing new life to the world… you shall bring new life to me!!"_

Rico tensed up, preparing to fight as she heard its shout, before a powerful force slammed into her. She was thrown backwards, losing her hold on Danielle. The force lifted her several feet into the air, Rico letting out a cry as she struggling against its unyielding grip. Danielle shouted her name as the force wrenched the Red Saber out of her hand and shot it down at the teen. She jumped back with a yelp, the tip embedding itself deeply into the ground.

"_Yes… so full of life… so vibrant… suffer… for eternity…"_

Rico felt the sting of tears in her eyes now, knowing what was to come. She had failed to defeat the monster, instead falling prey to it. She looked down at Danielle, sorrow wrenching at her heart while the tears slowly ran down her face. "I'm sorry," she managed to say, her sorrow reflected through her eyes. "I'm proud of you, Danielle… I really am."

"Rico!!"

She felt that hungry entity wrap around her, an evil cold piercing straight into her body. "I was too uncertain to admit it, but… you've been like a daughter to me. I love you, Danielle."

"No!" Danielle shouted, going to take a step forward while Rico closed her eyes.

_Father, forgive me._

The force made its move, plunging itself eagerly into her body. A piercing chill tore through her body before her soul and mind were ripped from her body and Dark Falz took control.


	16. Cry for IDOLA the Holy

Chapter 16: Cry for "IDOLA" the Holy

Danielle watched in horror as Rico's body shuddered violently, the red eyes open and glazed over. Lightning ripped through the darkened skies, an evil wind howling across the dead plain. A strange, cold light wrapped around Rico's body now, blinding Danielle as she stumbled back a step. Covering her eyes, she wincing somewhat while the wind tore at her body. She glanced down, spotting the Red Saber embedded in the ground. Danielle wrapped her hand around the hilt tightly, pulling it up from the stone.

"_Behold… my true form…"_

The light flashed so brightly now that Danielle cried out while covering her eyes with her free hand and stumbling back. Suddenly, her body felt incredibly lightweight, something lifting her up into the air. Danielle forced open her eyes, her vision blurred and distorted as she tried to examine her surroundings. She was rising up towards a circular, ring-like platform that had symbols on its surface, the platform teal in color. The platform was very high above the ground, the air unusually calm compared to the howling winds she had felt on the ground. Landing on the platform, she stumbled forward a bit whole holding up the Red Saber, shifting uneasily. Dark Falz wasn't anywhere in sight.

"_I shall show you… the true meaning of fear!"_

A shape flew up into the middle of the rings, hovering there in front of her. Its body was a light shade of blue, its long spindly arms ending in two _very _long and deadly blades. From its back came down two long and thin wings with shimmering membranes that were a rainbow of colors. Its head was cross-shaped with no noticeable eyes, the colored lines running along its body green in color. Its torso was taken up by a gigantic open mouth that never closed, three short "teeth" lining the sides, moving individually and ending in deadly sharp tips. It had no legs, but it did possess a tail of sorts. Of medium length, the top was covered in the same light blue skin as the rest of Falz's body while the bottom was pinkish flesh. Danielle knew without a doubt that this was the perfect form of Dark Falz.

Moving with impossible speed for a creature its size, Falz flew forward and brought down one massive bladed arm, the strike hitting with full force and sending Danielle skidding across the platform. Her armor had done nothing to minimize the damage, a deep gash in her side. Gasping a bit, she rolled over onto her back and managed to sit up somewhat, seeing Falz towering there over her.

_("Don't hurt her!") "You… shall suffer…"_

Danielle spat slightly, tasting something in her mouth. She looked down and saw dark red blood tinged purple. She stared at it, feeling sick to her stomach, the wounds in her back feeling as if they were constantly moving now. She knew what was happening, but she didn't want it to be true.

"_Can you feel it…? Can you feel your body changing… evolving…? You will become like me… a part of me for all eternity…" ("Fight it! Don't let it control you!")_

Hearing Rico's voice faintly in her mind made Danielle glance up, a glimmer of hope within her. Her friend still lived, held by Dark Falz just as Danielle herself had been.

Defiantly, she gathered the strength to stumble to her feet, taking up the Red Saber and pointing it at Dark Falz even as she heard its sinister laughter in her mind. She was terrified, but she had to try to fight. She had to give it her best shot.

_Besides, I have nothing left to lose right now._

"_Hah… Pathetic… Look at you… trembling and trying to be brave… You will join your friend in her suffering…!" ("Don't… give up! We're still together, we can still fight!")_

Danielle bared her teeth, striking out at Dark Falz as it drew close. The blade cut the skin of the dark god, not doing a lot of damage but injuring it nonetheless. Falz flew back out of range, watching her now. Holding her side, Danielle began to jog around the ring, keeping an eye on Falz as she moved. As soon as it flew in to slash again, Danielle jumped forward to avoid it. The blade cleaved through the space she had just occupied, barely missing her while it passed through the ring without damaging the platform. Danielle landed in a prone position on the platform, quickly scrambling to her feet even as pain slashed through her side, turning and aiming a strike at it. Just before the blade could it, a strange crystalline shell covered its body to protect it.

"Zonde!" Danielle shouted, thrusting her left hand forward, palm towards the demon. A bolt of lightning shot down into Falz, the technique resulting in a growl of pain despite the protective shell. Danielle was about to use another technique when Dark Falz rose above the area and out of range of her attacks. Spheres of blue light shot down from Falz at her like missiles, Danielle running as fast as she could now to dodge them. As the last of the spheres shot by, Dark Falz pointed one of its bladed arms at her. Instantly, arrows of light shot into Danielle from all sides, the Grants technique striking with crushing force. Crashing to the platform's surface, Danielle gasped weakly in pain from the numerous injuries that covered her body. The Red Saber clattered to the surface just in front of her, Falz's triumphant laughter echoing in her head.

_("Get up! You have to keep fighting for both of us! I know it's hard, but you can't give up!")_

Danielle coughed weakly, in more pain than she had ever endured in her life. How in the world she hadn't passed out yet, she hadn't the slightest clue. She drew upon her last reserves of strength, grasping the hilt of the Red Saber and holding it in what was pretty much a death grip as she rose unsteadily to her feet. Falz floated there in front of her, pointing a blade arm at her once more. Danielle felt a slight tugging sensation, a feeling of being lightweight, and a rush of fatigue. An exact copy of Danielle appeared within Falz's mouth, those strange teeth moving around her as if they were eager to bite into her.

Confused, Danielle focused on making her body move as she rushed to the edge and slashed at Falz, immediately falling to her knees with a scream. As soon as she had struck, a searing pain had ripped through her chest, Falz's "teeth" sinking into the copy image. There was no real physical damage that she could see, but the pain was all too real.

_Not much more… I can't handle… much more of this…_

She struggled to just stand to her feet, face ashen in color, her blue eyes carrying an exhausted look. Every part of her body was hurting now. Her insides felt like they were on fire, sweat rolling down her face. She could barely breathe, couldn't focus…

_("Danielle…")_

_I can't fight anymore, Rico… I'm changing already, and that thing's too strong…_

_("There's one last thing left to do. We can't lose ourselves to it. We have to hold on to who we are and not let it consume us.")_

_How are we supposed to fight something as powerful as this?_

_("We have to try. If we can just hold on, someone from _Pioneer 2 _may come and destroy it.")_

_And if they don't?_

Danielle had staggered to her feet, Falz hovering a few feet in front of her, the copies image now gone from its mouth. She knew that it was gloating over its approaching victory, Rico's weak but comforting voice falling silent for a second in her mind.

_("That… is not an option.")_

For one last time she raised the Red Saber. She knew it was a lost cause, as did Rico. Despite these impossible odds, she remained defiant, determined to fight until the end. Her body protesting each movement, terror gripping her heart, she struck with all of the force she could manage. The Red Saber sliced deep into Dark Falz's flesh, its growl of pain full of anger and rage. Danielle saw it move its arm out of the corner of her eye, the flat of its blade slamming into her side and sending her flying off the edge of the platform. She lost her hold on the weapon, plummeting down through the sky towards a pit of infinite darkness. Dazed, she managed to make out Dark Falz shooting past her, waiting below with its body turned up towards her, that gaping maw open and eager.

Blood in her mouth, struggling just to breathe, a feeling like cold fingers prying into her mind and digging into her soul. Pain ripped at her, the very blood in her veins burning. She knew death would be a release, but it wouldn't come. It would never come.

_("Danielle!!")_

Weakly, she raised a hand, trying to reach out. "R-Ri…co…" In an instant, the worst pain she had ever felt ripped straight through her body. She couldn't scream, couldn't breathe, her eyes wide with pain and fear. She was still falling, but she could see her own body impaled on the demon's blade. She screamed for help, but no sound escaped, the teeth in Falz's mouth gnashing at her soul, trying to rip it apart. She was fading, slipping away bit by bit with nothing to latch onto. Darkness was everywhere, evil and infinite, not a single glimmer of light piercing through.

Before Danielle was completely shredded apart, she felt a warm, strong hand grip her own. She raised her head but saw nothing but darkness, not even seeing her own arm.

_Rico…?_

_("I'm here… don't worry…") _Her voice sounded strained, as if she endured terrible pain herself. _("We'll be freed… We just have to hold on. The only way we'll survive this is if we hold on together…")_

Danielle could only hope that what Rico said was true. Trapped in that darkness, Dark Falz still trying to rip at her soul, Danielle just held on tight and waited.

-------------------------------

Dark Falz returned to its tomb once more, twisting its host's body in the way that it saw fit. The other's body was already mutating, Falz crafting it to its liking to form its guardian. Even with its new host, it still wasn't satisfied. It needed a more suitable host body to evolve even more. It would never stop, eternally consuming everything in its path. It could sense thousands of souls on a ship in orbit about the planet. Already people, strong ones, were exploring the surface. They were following the trail of its host and its guardian, heading right in its direction. It called out to them, beckoning them to come, ready to devour every last one of them.


End file.
